Leon's has 110% used the whole 'bad with directions' thing as an excuse to hold hands with his S/O like... all the time.
Though it was a very different region than Galar in terms of geography and culture, Kanto was not too difficult to travel. Sure, there was a lack of flying taxis and a large amount of distance between each major city that all physically made getting somehwere harder, but you liked to think that it made the journey itself more worthwhile. In comparison to the Gym Challenge of Galar, you could see where trainers from Kanto would certainly earn their stripes from their journey as much as getting the badges themselves--and maybe one day you'll take it on, if the opportunity allowed.
But for now, you are simply a tourist, enjoying the unique sights and Pokemon alike in a little cross-regional trip since things had gotten quiet in Galar. Of course Leon was with you, as both former-reiging champion and your boyfriend--you couldn't imagine such a trip without him.
Or perhaps, more specifically, he wouldn't get on without you. When the two of you had gotten to Saffron city by using the underground tunnels, for example (all of which were straightaways), the man had managed to get turned around not once, not twice, but three times total. It was nearing on rediculous, so you did the only thing you could do to make sure Leon and you didn't somehow get separated in the big expanse of one of Kanto's biggest cities: you took one of his hands in your own and refused to let go.
This lingered well into when the two of you came into Saffron, him keeping the two of you from bumping into people while you had your eyes glued to your rotom phone.
"I can't tell where we're supposed to go from here," you mutter softly, trying to turn your phone every which way to get a better view on the map, though nothing seemed to help you get a solid understanding on all the streets and back ways of the city--it could almost rival Wyndon in its size, which in this case wasn't a very good thing.
Leon chuckles beside you, giving your hand a gentle squeeze with his own. At least he deigned to wear something other than his normal uniform--slacks and a t-shirt looked good on him, though you're still not sure how he seemed to have a new ball cap for each day of travel stuffed into the bag on his back.
"I think route 5 connects somewhere to the west, right?" he says after a moment of thought. "If we keep going down this way, we should find the hotel, and farther down I think should be the gate."
You peer closer to the phone in your hand, eyes squinting, but eventually see the names of all the streets that you needed to look out for. But it's only upon that confirmation that a realization hits you, and suddenly your eyes turn, accusatory, to the man beside you.
You can't help but see a gentle creeping of fear somewhere within the normally golden joy that radiates from Leon's eyes. The two of you stop ight in the middle of the sidewalk, and Leon suddenly looks very sheepish.
"It seems awfully suspect that you suddenly know how to get out of this city," you say, eyeing the man with equal parts amusement and frustration. "Where was that knowledge when we were finding our way through Viridian forest?"
The longer you stared at the once-champiom, the more flustered and sheepish he seemed to get. By the time his eyes have wandered into the windows of the many shops you'd been passing by, he speaks, and with no shortage of honest embarrassment in each word.
"Well...I mean...," He scratches at his chin, then looks down at his feet. "Sometimes it's nice to...y'know...hold your hand."
"Leon," you're not sure if you feel more amused or confused by the admission. "We're already dating."
That only seems to make him all the more flustered, cheeks hot as his eyes fly to yours. It's hard not to feel a little weak in the moment, seeing him Scrabble desperately for words against what was a fairly simple, blunt concept.
"I know we're dating!" He exclaims, and only then gently tugs the two of you out of the middle of the sidewalk when a small group of teenager almost push their way past. "But like...sometimes it's hard to ask..."
Frustration, though light to begin with, melts away into amusement. It's not as if you had much of a hard time navigating the region yet anyway, so it didn't matter for much. But the man's simple, almost silly reason to feign ignorance was enough to make you laugh--the champion of Galar, too nervous to ask to hold your hand? It seemed too silly to be true, yet he stood there, cheeks hot and eyes nervously trying not to look away from you.
"In my defense," Leon says, "I only know Saffron because I was here once for a conference with the top trainers from a couple other regions." He squeezes your hand as if to assure you, to comfort the anger that didn't exist towards him. "But Viridian Forest is an absolute maze--if you didn't find the way out of there I think we would have been lost forever."
"No! Really! If I was by myself I would have starved, dead, no more ex-champion left."
"-I would have also gotten lost in that cave we went through after Pewter City too, so-"
When words seem to fail, a kiss seems suitable to get the man to quiet in his rambling. And it does work, though quick is the touch of your lips, and it leaves him truly speechless enough that you're able to get more than a few amused words in.
"I believe you," you squeeze his hand and gesture down the direction of the road you'd been walking. "Let's get to the hotel and figure out our game plan for tomorrow, alright?"
Leon looks at you for a few moments before wordlessly nodding in agreement. Then you both start walking again, still hand-in-hand.
The sound of his name catches the man's attention. He looks toward you with those soft, golden eyes. You meet his gaze with a smile.
"Promise you'll just ask to hold my hand next time."
Leon looks sheepish, but smiles lightly as he moves his eyes to the ground, and then to the walkway ahead of you both. He squeezes your hand in his, warm and gentle.
