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"Wait, Lucas, I have an errand for you."
Lucas stopped walking, glancing back at Professor Rowan over his shoulder. Rowan strode towards Lucas and Dawn, his shoes clacking against the polished tiles of the lab. In his right hand, he gripped another pokédex.
Another one? Lucas thought. Rowan had already given Dawn a pokédex, and Lucas assumed Rowan gave Barry one, too.
"Uh, sorry, could you just give us a moment?" Lucas turned his attention to Dawn, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Sure." Dawn smiled. Hitching her bag strap higher up her shoulder, she turned and pushed the lab door open. He piplup scrambled afte her, squawking with annoyance as his talons slipped against the tiles.
“Do you remember that boy we met on Rout 201? Barry?” Rowan asked.
Lucas nodded, the memory of Barry's smile flashing through his mind's eye. He was probably one of the cutest guys Lucas had ever met.
“He took off from the lab before I had the chance to give him this pokédex,” Rowan continued.
Lucas whistled. How’d Barry manage to escape the lab without a pokédex?
Rowan held out the pokédex towards Lucas. “I have an errand for you. I’ll like for you to track Barry down and give him this. Three is always better than two, after all.”
Lucas nodded, taking the pokédex. The cold, metallic red cover shimmered against the light labs, identical in every way to his and Dawn’s pokédexes.
“Of course, professor,” Lucas said. “You can count on me. I’ll give him the pokédex as soon as I find him, I promise.”
“Excellent, thank you.” Rowan smiled. “Now, go. Dawn’s waiting for you, too.”
Lucas smiled back before hurrying from the lab, releasing his chimchar. Chimchar bounded onto his shoulder, his fur brushing Lucas’s cheek. Lucas smiled at him, giving him a pat on the head. Being a fire-type, Chimchar's fur and body ran warmer than other pokémon, making it feel like there was a hot water bottle sitting on Lucas's shoulder.
He found Dawn standing by the lab door, arms crossed and tapping her foot. Lucas apologised for the wait, and despite her impatient demeanour, she brushed off his apology with a smile. After that, Lucas showed her around Sandgem Town, Chimchar nestled into a ball in Lucas's arms and Piplup sitting on top of Dawn's head. The sandy path crunched beneath their feet, and the salty air drifted around them. Despite being the middle of winter, the sun was still warm against Lucas's back.
"Would you like for me to show you how to catch a pokémon?” Lucas asked, pausing by the entrance to Route 202 and changing the subject from their favourite books.
“Yes, please!” Dawn grabbed his arm and hurried to Route 202. Lucas stumbled after her, amused. No wonder she and Barry were friends.
He showed her how to catch a pokémon, which turned out to be a bidoof. After giving her a bunch of poké balls, she turned and rushed back towards Sandgem Town.
“Wait!” he called after her.
Dawn paused, glancing over her shoulder.
Lucas explained what had happened to Barry’s pokédex. Dawn snorted and rolled her eyes. “Oh, Barry, of course you did that.”
“So, if you see him, could you please tell him I’ve been looking for him?” Lucas asked. “The professor really wants us three to work on the pokédex together.”
Dawn nodded giving him the thumbs-up. “Sure thing! I’ll try to remember! Good luck with catching up to him, too!”
Good luck catching up to him?
Lucas saw another benefit to having Barry also work on the pokédex: it would give Lucas and Barry a good reason to talk to each other, and from that, they could also become friends like Lucas and Dawn were becoming. Growing up, he didn’t really have many friends, so he wanted to take as many opportunities as he could to make a new friend.
Lucas spent about half an hour ambling around Route 202 and Jubilife City, working on the pokédex and keeping his eyes open for Barry. He didn’t end up finding Barry, but instead ended up with a new pokétch that the Pokétch Company were trying to promote. He wasn’t sure why they were giving away brand-new models for free, but he didn’t ask because free stuff was free stuff.
He bumped into Dawn as she headed into Jubilife City. He checked how many pokémon she had caught (only two), they met an international police agent called Looker, and he showed her to the trainer’s school.
He continued hanging around Jubilife, and a few minutes later, he spotted Dawn again. This time, he asked her if she had seen Barry.
To his surprise, Dawn nodded. “He was at the Trainer’s School. You didn’t see him?”
Lucas shook his head. “Thanks, I’ll head there now.”
“Sorry, he’s already on his way to Oreburgh. I didn’t get the chance to ask him about the pokédex.”
Lucas sighed. Well, at least Barry shouldn’t have gotten too far, right?
They said goodbye, and Dawn whistled to catch her shinx’s attention, who was sniffing along the yellow-paved ground. And with that, she ran off, darting into the crowds.
Lucas ended up spending the rest of the day searching for Barry at and around Oreburgh City, to no avail. Feet hurting from all the walking he had done, he lumbered back to the lab as the sun began to dip in the sky.
He wasn’t looking forward to telling Rowan the bad news.
Thankfully, Rowan wasn't upset and instead suggested that Lucas could just continue looking for Barry while working on the pokédex and completing field research.
Lucas hoped that would work.
One week later, and there was still no sign of Barry anywhere.
Lucas had started asking random people if they had seen a tall, fifteen-year-old blond boy with a green scarf that couldn’t stay still. Most of the time, they said no. Sometimes they said yes, before sending Lucas off to some location that did not have Barry anymore.
Lucas was annoyed.
One day, when he and Rowan were in Jubilife, Rowan ended up getting harassed by some strange spacemen calling themselves Team Galactic. Just as Lucas was about to step in, Dawn appeared out of nowhere, Piplup squawking as he charged after her. Lucas was relieved—it would be easier for him and Dawn to team up to take down two trainers. Only, he ended up a little gobsmacked when he realized that Dawn’s skill as a trainer had improved fast, in such a short amount of time. Piplup stood with his chest outwards, shooting jets of water like lasers at the opposing pokémon and ramming them with a sharp, glowing beak. Dawn's gaze never wavered from the battlefield, her jaw clenched and fists curled by her sides. And despite feeling on the sidelines even though he was also battling with Chimchar, Lucas couldn't fight the smile plastered to his face and his chest felt swelled with pride for his friend.
After they chased away the two grunts, Lucas withdrew Chimchar and turned to Dawn. "Well done! You've improved a ton!”
She smiled at him, giving Piplup a pat. “Thanks.”
“I guess you didn't have an issue with the gym challenge?"
Dawn directed her smile at Piplup. "Nope, not with this little guy here." Piplup chirped at her words, wagging his flippers.
"And I suppose the gym battle must've really gave you a lot of experience. By the way, have you seen Barry around lately, by any chance?"
"Yesterday, in Oreburgh. He said he was on his way to Eterna. You haven't bumped into him yet?"
Lucas stared at her. “Seriously?”
Dawn blinked slowly. “Huh?”
“Sorry.” He dragged a hand down his face. “Not you. Don’t worry about it.”
Dawn was frowning at him, but shrugged and said nothing.
Lucas sighed, dropping his gaze to Chimchar. Chimchar leaped into his arms and pressed his face into Lucas' stomach. He ran his fingers through Chimchar’s scraggly fur, wondering how he had missed Barry. Lucas spent so much time in Oreburgh!
And now, Lucas had to trek all the way to Eterna. Lucas hoped this wasn’t turning into a pattern—he didn’t want to wander around the whole of Sinnoh searching for Dawn’s best friend/rival.
Dawn frowned. "I told him in Oreburgh you were looking for him."
“Oh. What did he say?”
"Nothing, really. He just took off again.”
"He does that a lot, doesn't he?"
"You don't know the half of it," Dawn muttered, shaking her head. “He’s even more impatient than me.”
They went quiet for a moment, then Lucas said, "Thanks."
"No problem." She smiled, tucking her hair behind her ears. "I'm also on my way to Eterna. We can go there together. And maybe we'll bump into him along the way."
Lucas's eyes widened. "Oh, no, it's-"
"Really, I insist.” Dawn smiled.
They were quiet again, and Lucas let out a small sigh. "Alright, then. Thanks."
Lucas had always been a patient person, but now he was frustrated. He and Dawn travelled from Jubilife, up to Floaroma Town, made his way through Eterna Forest, and then to Eterna City, and there was still no sign of Barry anywhere. He and Dawn went their separate ways after reaching Eterna—Dawn going to visit the gym, and Lucas heading back towards Eterna Forest to catch some more pokémon.
Lucas had never been a strong trainer, so he hadn’t really thought about challenging gyms. According to Dawn, Barry was participating in the gym challenge, too. Lucas wondered how he was finding it—Dawn told him Barry hadn’t defeated her yet, but that didn’t mean anything about Barry’s skills. After all, Dawn was somehow already an incredible trainer—she had just kicked Team Galactic out of Valley Windworks and saved a hostage. Of course, Barry would seem weak in comparison.
He and Dawn agreed to meet back up at the pokémon center. When Lucas arrived at their agreed upon time, Dawn as already there, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and looking uncomfortable. Her luxio sat behind her, licking her haunches.
“Sorry,” Dawn said, spotting him. “I ran into Barry at the legendary pokémon statue. He yelled something about his pokémon dodging all attacks and then he bolted. I didn’t get the chance to tell him you’re looking for him.”
Lucas stared at her. “Are you kidding me?! Why is he so hard for me to track down?”
“I can punch him next time I see him,” she offered.
Lucas huffed. “Don’t, I’ll do it.” After all, he had been searching for Barry for an entire month, and yet Dawn was the one who kept running into him. He considered asking Dawn to give Barry the pokédex, but he wanted to be the one to give it to him (because Lucas just wanted to see Barry again, and the pokédex gave him a perfect excuse).
Well, on the bright side, it had been nice to finally see Eterna in person.
Eterna was just as how he imagined it would be. Quiet, no crowds, scatterings of people milling about the small streets with clusters of small houses and low-rising buildings. Monferno bounded ahead, sniffing the unfamiliar buildings, tail wagging. He had become a lot more confident since evolving.
He and Dawn said their goodbyes, and both went their separate ways once more. Lucas went to see the legendary pokémon statue. He wondered if he would ever get to meet a legendary himself one day—that would be really useful for filling out the pokédex.
Afterwards, Lucas spent more time on Route 207, working on the pokédex. Some trainers said they saw a boy matching Barry’s description bolt past them a few days ago, heading towards Mount Coronet. Lucas had thanked them, before he ended up bumping into Dawn at the entrance to Mount Coronet.
Monferno, standing by Lucas’s side, waved and shot her a smile. Dawn’s drifloon hovered behind her, silent, her strings whipping around in the breeze. Lucas checked in with how Dawn’s pokédex was progressing—hers had more entries than his, which didn’t surprise Lucas because she was attempting the gym challenge. He tried joking about him falling behind her, to which she narrowed her eyes in concern, but Lucas waved away her concern and privately resolved to just try harder at filling up the pokédex. Rowan surely had high expectations of Lucas, after all—Lucas’s father certainly did. Dawn also mentioned that she met his father in the gate to Cycling Road, and he had also checked on her pokédex and commended her for her work. Lucas tried ignoring the slight twinge of envy in his gut and did his best to feel proud of his friend. Lucas’s father had checked up on Lucas’s pokédex the other day, too, but he hadn’t said anything about Lucas’s progress, and just simply reminded him about how important it was for Lucas to keep his position as Professor Rowan’s assistant.
After giving her the VS Seeker and a new pokétch app he figured she would find helpful, he called after her just as she was about to hurry into Mount Coronet.
“Yeah?” She gave him an expectant look, shooting him a smile.
Lucas took a deep breath, a sudden spike of nervousness in his gut, which made him confused as he pondered why he was suddenly nervous about asking how Barry was. “I was just wondering, have… have you seen Barry around, by any chance?”
“No, sorry,” she said. “Are you sure you didn’t want me to give him the pokédex for you?”
Lucas gave her a strained smile. “I’m sure, thank you.”
Dawn peered at him for a moment. “Hey, come closer. How about I take a picture of you and show it to him? So that he knows to keep an eye out for you, too?”
For some reason, the request made Lucas flush. “Uh, okay. But why?”
Dawn shrugged. “He’s terrible with faces. He’s probably forgotten what you look like.”
Lucas nodded, shakily, doing his best to ignore the disappointment that welled up inside his chest over the possibility that Barry may not remember Lucas. “Uh, thanks. I will.”
Dawn took a photo of him. Lucas felt awkward as he stood there like a plank of wood, a stiff smile plastered to his face.
Dawn thanked him once more for the photo and the two gifts, before turning around and disappearing into the darkness of Mount Coronet.
With a sigh, Lucas tugged off his hat and ran his fingers through his hair. Hopefully, Dawn’s plan would work.
The months passed by in a blur. Lucas eventually made it to Veilstone City, spending more time and money than he would care to admit in both the department store and the Game Corner. Eventually, after a few days in Veilstone, he bumped into Dawn near the gym.
“Hey Dawn, how’s your pokédex coming along?” he asked.
“Alright,” Dawn replied, already taking it out for Lucas to check her progress.
Lucas winced when he compared her completion rate to his. He was falling further and further behind her, which was a little embarrassing, considering he had been her mentor only a few months ago.
“Oh. Well, good luck on your gym battle,” he said. “You’ve been doing a great job on the pokédex so far!” Unlike me, he added silently.
Dawn smiled in response, turning to enter the gym. As she did, Luas remembered Barry.
“Wait!” he called after her. “Have you seen Barry around?”
Dawn nodded. “Saw him in Hearthome and Solaceon. Haven’t seen him since, though.”
Lucas huffed through his nose. He was definitely punching Barry in the face the moment they crossed paths (if they crossed paths, at this rate.)
“But I showed him the picture! And he knows you’re looking for him!” Dawn grinned at that, looking pleased with herself. “Are you sure you don’t just want me to give him the pokédex?”
Lucas nodded. “Yeah, I wanted to do it.”
Dawn shrugged. “Whatever you say. Hey, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?”
“Sure, go ahead.”
“Barry asked me to ask you if you’re queer and single.”
Lucas choked on his spit, face going red. “Wha-what?”
Dawn shrugged again, looking sideways. “He’s my best friend, and even I don’t know what goes on in his head sometimes. When it doesn’t involve battling, pokémon, and money, anyway. So, like, are you?”
"Are you?”
“I asked you first.”
Lucas bit the inside of his mouth. “So… he didn’t give you a reason as to why he wants to know that?”
Dawn just simply hummed and waved her hand.
Lucas blinked slowly, his mouth weirdly dry. The beautifly in his stomach started up again, the ones he had been trying so desperately to ignore. Why did Barry want to know if Lucas was both queer and single? And why get Dawn to ask?
“I mean… yeah, I am,” Lucas eventually said, the memory of Barry smiling still on his mind. “For both of those.”
“Cool.”
Cue awkward silence, until Dawn then said, “Well, for the record, I’m a lesbian.”
“Yeah?”
“Ah-huh.”
More awkward silence.
“Well, I’ll better be off to the gym.” She turned around and approached the gym doors, twisting her body to wave goodbye at him. Lucas waved back, giving her the thumbs-up. Dawn smiled, and entered the gym. Her prinplup hung back for a moment, waving and chirping at Lucas, before hurrying after his trainer.
Lucas crossed his arms, bouncing his foot. His clefairy chirped at him, tugging on the leg of his jeans.
“Well, I suppose we should probably get to Route 214,” Lucas said. “We really need to catch up to Dawn with the pokédex.”
Clefairy nodded.
…On second thought, would a few more rounds at the slot machines really hurt anyone?
The months continued passing by, and Lucas had just about given up hope on finding Barry.
It was ridiculous. He had travelled from one side of the region to the other, and still no Barry anywhere.
Because fuck his life.
Lucas was just about on the verge of putting up wanted posters of Barry all over Sinnoh’s cities and towns. He was beginning to regret not letting Dawn give Barry the pokédex. Lucas could probably come up with some other excuse for him to see Barry.
Thankfully, Professor Rowan didn’t seem upset that Lucas still hadn’t managed to track Barry down. He now seemed more preoccupied with his idea for Lucas, Dawn, and Barry to go explore the three Sinnohan lakes.
Which actually did fill Lucas with some hope, because if Barry was being included in the investigation, then he and Lucas’s paths would eventually cross, right?
…Right?
One day, Lucas accompanied Professor Rowan to Canalave Library. Rowan had wanted to do some last-minute extra research on the three Sinnohan lakes, before meeting up with Lucas, Dawn and Barry to explain his plans for the investigation. Lucas ended up on the first floor, flicking through a few books on Sinnohan history. He eventually settled down on the floor in a back corner, cracking open a hardback book.
And then, just about the most ironic thing happened to him:
“Hey, what you reading?”
Lucas looked up from the book.
Barry crouched next to him, one arm thrown over the tops of some books, smiling down at Lucas.
Lucas jumped. “Barry?”
Barry’s smile widened. He sat down in front of Lucas, his shins brushing against Lucas’s. “Hey, you remember me!”
Lucas opened his mouth, finding it more surprising that Barry remembered Lucas, but then he remembered Dawn had apparently shown Barry a photo of him. Surely, Barry would’ve remembered that.
He swallowed thickly, trying to ignore the stab of disappointment. “Uh, yeah.”
“So, what book are you reading?” Barry grabbed the book, furrowing his brow as he scanned the cover. “How Hisui became known as Sinnoh?”
Lucas took the book back. “When I’m ready to become a full pokémon professor, I think I want to focus on something related to Hisui.”
“Huh, that sounds pretty cool.” Barry’s frown shifted back to that familiar smile.
Cool? Lucas’s mouth went dry and he looked away, feeling very aware of his own body right now, their legs brushing against each other’s.
“So, check this out!” Barry reached into his bag, taking out a badge case. He snapped it open, and inside, six gym badges sat, dulled under the lights of the library. “Pretty impressive, huh? Now no one will laugh when I tell them I’m gonna be the strongest trainer in the world!”
Lucas smiled. “Well, congratulations. And you ought to clean your badges.”
Barry scowled at him. “Clean? Who has time for that?”
Lucas snorted, looking away.
Barry looked oddly pleased with himself. He slipped the badges back into his bag, glancing around.
They fell quiet for a few seconds, and Barry leaned back, launching into multiple stories of his victories against random gym leaders. Lucas listened, smiling, finding himself struggling to pay attention to what Barry was actually saying, and instead, simply paid attention to the sound of Barry’s enthusiastic voice, his soft and adorable smile, the way his orange eyes lit up whenever he recounted a pretty impressive victory…
“And Torterra wiped completely wiped the floor with that bastiodon! One Earthquake only! And then I got the badge from Byron!” Barry finished, and Lucas flinched out of his daze.
“Oh. Uh, well done.” He flushed, looking away. Damn it, he really did have a crush.
“Thanks. So, uh, Dawnie’s still battling the gym, because she’s so slow and all,” he said. “So, uh, I was just wondering, did you… well, did you want to go grab a coffee or something? Just us two?”
Lucas glanced back at Barry. Barry gazed back at him, his cheeks red, rubbing the back of his neck absent-mindedly.
Lucas gulped, his mouth even drier than it had been before. “Uh, sure. Okay.”
“Great!” Barry pumped his fists, and then froze. “Uh… Just in here, Canalave?”
Lucas nodded. He returned the book to the shelf, and as he did, Barry started talking again:
“I’ll meet you outside! I’ll fine you if you’re too slow!” And with that, he turned and dashed for the staircase.
It wasn’t until Barry had disappeared when Lucas remembered the pokédex.
Lucas groaned, smacking his forehead.
Thankfully, Barry was simply just waiting for him outside the library. He paced back and forth, arms crossed, frowning as he peered around him.
He spun to face Lucas as the library door closed behind him. “Jeez! You’re like Dawn, keeping me waiting all the damn time! I’m gonna fine you three million pokédollars!”
Lucas bit his lip. “Sorry.”
Barry’s eyes widened. “Wow, okay. Holy shit.” He chuckled. “That’s the first time someone’s ever apologised for making me wait, so just for that, I’m going to retract that fine fully. It’s not something I do for most people, so you better feel grateful.” And with that, Barry winked, grabbed Lucas by the hand, and hurried down the street.
Lucas scrambled to keep up, flushing, his heart thumping hard enough it felt like it was going to burst from his chest.
He really liked holding Bary’s hand, he realized.
“Whereabouts are we going?” Lucas asked.
“How about that café near the pokémon center?” Barry asked. “I spotted it when I first arrived, but I didn’t have the chance to go there. I got preoccupied with training on Iron Island and fighting the gym.”
He nodded. “Well, alright, then.”
Despite being a port city, Canalave had always been fairly quiet. Wild flocks of wingull and pelliper flew overhead, crying, and the distant horns of ships echoed through the air. The air reminded Lucas of Sandgem Town: salty and crisp.
Barry slowed, now walking beside Lucas, still holding Lucas’s hand. Lucas did his best to focus his attention on his surroundings, and he hoped that his hand hadn’t started sweating out of his own nervousness, being so close to Barry. Barry's hand was warm, slightly bigger than his.
Barry hadn't made a comment about it. Lucas figured Barry probably hadn't noticed.
“Here it is.” Barry paused in front of a small, quaint café, its walls brown and with several empty chairs and tables standing outside. He led Lucas inside, holding the door open for him. And, still holding Lucas’s hand, made his way over to the counter.
The smell of coffee beans and cinnamon hung heavy in the air, and a Unovan pop song Lucas had heard a few times but didn’t know the lyrics to crooned over the speaker. A chatot stood perched on the expresso machine, chirping and watching the lone barista behind the counter. Aside from Lucas and Barry, there were only three customers, sitting in booths along the wall.
They ordered a coffee each, squeezing into a booth opposite from each other. The booth was next to a large window that displayed the rest of the street: a line of houses, a pack of wild buizel rushing past, a bidoof scavenging for leftovers in a house’s garbage can.
It was only then when Barry let go of Lucas’s hand, trailing it across the wooden surface of the booth's table.
Lucas looked away and he bit his lip, his hand now feeling oddly cold.
As they waited for their coffees, Barry turned to Lucas, flashing him another smile and asked him about what type of pokémon Lucas had and any good battles Lucas had done recently. From their, their small talk progressed to talking about other interests, what types of food and drinks they liked, what they wanted to do when they were older. Lucas learnt about how Barry's father was the Tower Tycoon, and how Barry wanted to follow in his father's footsteps when he was older. Barry said he'd always liked fast pokémon and his favorite type was fire. He cracked a few jokes, causing Lucas to chuckle. Barry gazed back at him, propping his chin on his hand, his orange eyes soft.
Somone cleared their throat.
Both of them flinched. The barista who took their order stood at their table, clutching two takeaway cups. Her gaze remained trained on the ground.
Lucas went red. She must've been standing there for a while.
"Thanks," he muttered, taking his coffee from her. When Barry took his, she spun around and hurried back to the counter.
"Jeez, I didn't even notice her," Barry said.
They fell quiet at that. Lucas took a sip of his coffee. It needed some sugar—it was a little too bitter.
Barry nudged Lucas in the ankle.
“So, uh, I’ve been meaning to ask you,” Barry said, a flush creeping across his face. “Um… Dawn told me that your single?”
Lucas went rigid. “Uh, yeah? She said something about you wanting to know?”
The flush on Barry’s face deepened, and he squirmed, eyes darting around and refusing to settle on Lucas. “Right!” His voice sounded too loud. “Uh… doyouhaveacrushonanyone?”
Lucas stared at him. Barry cringed, throwing up his hands.
“I mean! I’m not asking you for any particular reason or anything! I’m just curious!”
Lucas gulped. Right, no reason. That familiar disappointment reared its head again, and he sighed, taking a sip of his coffee.
“I… I mean, yeah, I guess.” Lucas looked away.
“Oh.” Barry went quiet, tapping his fingers along the edge of the table. “It’s… it’s not Dawn, is it?”
“No, I’m gay.”
“Oh.”
Silence again.
“Well…” Barry said, and then fell silent, as if he just wanted to say something to fill the awkward silence that had sprang up around them.
Lucas didn’t blame him.
He racked his brain, wanting to find something to distract him with-
The pokédex.
Lucas reached into his bag, retrieving the pokédex.
“This is for you.” Lucas held it out towards Barry. By now, its metallic red casing had been scratched.
“Hey, doesn’t Dawn have one of these?” Barry took the pokédex with a frown, turning it over in his hand.
Lucas nodded, explaining why Professor Rowan wanted Barry to have it. Upon that, Barry smiled and glanced back up at Lucas.
“Heh, of course. He knows I’ll be the one to fill it all in first,” Barry said.
“You’re six months behind me and Dawn.”
“Doesn’t matter, I’ll catch up and then beat you both. Besides, this’ll be useful to help me become the strongest trainer in the world. No wonder Dawnie’s so good at battling.”
Huh, Lucas supposed that was true. Was the pokédex the reason why Dawn had grown so strong as a trainer in such a short amount of time?
Wait, if that was the case, then shouldn’t Lucas also be a strong trainer, too?
“You know how difficult you’ve been to track down?” Lucas eventually said, shaking his head.
“Huh?” Barry frowned at him.
“I’ve been looking for you for six months, so I could give you that pokédex. And then Dawn keeps telling me you two keep bumping into each other, and yet I’ve never bumped into you until today.”
Barry’s eyes widened, and then he chuckled. “Oh. Whoops, sorry, dude. Tell you what, I’ll pay for these coffees, as a way to make it up to you for being so hard to track down.”
Lucas shook his head. That felt way too much like a date to him, and that was the last thing his heart needed right now. “It’s fine, don’t worry about it. It’s not like this is a date or anything.”
Barry flushed and looked away. “Yeah, not a date, totally not a date, at all.”
Lucas frowned. Did he actually dare ask? He hesitated, heart hammering before asking, “Wait, so, is this a date, then?”
“Not… not unless you want it to be!” Barry shook his head. “I-I mean… I don’t care, either way!”
Lucas’s breath hitched in his throat. “And if I want it to be?”
Barry stared at him for a moment, then his face lit up, eyes glinting. And then, he pushed his coffee aside, leaned over the table, and pressed his lips against Lucas’s.
Lucas kissed him back. Barry’s breath smelt of coffee, his lips soft against Lucas’s. The kiss only lasted a couple of seconds, but it was still enough for it to send a tingle to shoot down Lucas’s spine.
Barry pulled back, beaming. “So, well, this is a date!”
Lucas snorted, rolling his eyes, but he was still grinning. "I guess so."
"Awesome!" Barry pumped his fists. "Does that mean we're boyfriends?"
Lucas smiled back at him, face pink. "Yeah, if you want. I mean, I'll like to be your boyfriend."
Barry didn't respond. Instead, he just leaned across the table again, kissing Lucas once again.