Chapter Text
Mairin sat in a circle surrounded by their friends. A bowl filled with folded pieces of paper sat in their lap. The others were pretty excited at the idea of playing Seven Minutes in Heaven, although a few of them were rather hesitant. Mairin had written their friends’ names on the pieces of paper and folded them up, prepared to draw two names. However, they weren’t just drawing at random. No, no, they had a plan .
“Why is Mairin the one who gets to draw the names?” Ash suddenly asked, folding his arms over his chest. The raven-haired boy was seated right between Clemont and Sawyer, who, until now, had been purposefully avoiding eye contact with everyone.
“Because they’re the host of the party,” Alain pointed out, “It’s common courtesy to let the host control the games.” Mairin nodded in affirmation, although Ash still didn’t seem convinced.
“But what happens if they draw their own name and they put the paper back?” Ash frowned. A few of the others seemed to consider this for a second, while Mairin just rolled their eyes.
“If you see me put a piece of paper back, then you can take away my host privileges,” Mairin snorted, “Now if that’s over with, let’s get this game started!” Ash leaned back a little bit, defeated, while everyone else seemed to perk up with interest.
Mairin had strategically drawn small shapes on the back of each paper to differentiate the names. It wasn’t large enough for the other players to see, but just large enough for Mairin to tell which name was which. Mairin reached into the bowl and pulled out two pieces of paper, opened them up, and smirked.
“Miette and Nini,” Mairin called out. Miette, who obviously wasn’t expecting to be involved in this, shot up in surprise. Meanwhile, Nini’s cheeks flushed a light pink. Everyone else started to laugh at their reactions, which caused the two of them to become more flustered.
“That’s not fair!” Miette whined. Mairin cocked an eyebrow at her.
“Sorry, Miette, I guess it’s just the luck of the draw,” Mairin shrugged, slyly, “I don’t make the rules. Now, into the closet, you go!” Before the game started, they had all agreed that one of the supply closets at the lab was where the two chosen would spend their seven minutes. Miette and Nini slowly and hesitantly stood up and made their way to the closet. As they were walking, Miette suddenly stopped next to Mairin and bent down to their level.
“You are a liar and you are going to burn for your lies ,” Miette whispered, aggressively, directly in Mairin’s ear. Mairin just gave her a mischievous smirk, before waving her off.
“Have fun in there, lovebirds!” Mairin teased, loudly. Miette gave Mairin an irritated glare, before stalking off towards the closet, and soon both girls had disappeared behind the closed door. Bonnie, who was sitting on Mairin’s right, started the seven-minute timer on her phone. Before playing, they all had a mutual agreement that Bonnie would just be an observer, and not an actual participant, for obvious reasons.
After a few minutes of sitting in silence, Mairin could sense the sudden awkwardness in the atmosphere.
“Soo… what do you think they’re doing in there?” Shauna asked, suddenly breaking the silence. A few people shrugged in response.
“I dunno,” Ash responded, then suddenly a cheeky grin appeared on his face, “Wanna get close up to the door and spy on them?”
“That seems like an invasion of privacy,” Trevor pointed out, “Plus, I don’t want to hear anything that’s going to mentally scar me.”
“C’mon, it can’t be that bad!” Shauna giggled, “For once, I agree with Ash. We should go spy on them and use it for blackmail later!”
“No, I agree with Trevor. It’s an invasion of their privacy,” Clemont frowned.
“Clemont, this whole game is an invasion of privacy!” Ash whined, “Besides, what’s the point of playing if you can’t use it for blackmail!”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Mairin suddenly exclaimed, “As the host of this game, I say we should just give all players their privacy. That way, nobody has to worry about being spied on and blackmailed.” As much as they wanted to know what the others would be discussing in that closet, they knew that they couldn’t. If everyone was worried about being spied on, then nothing would end up happening in those seven minutes! Mairin needed the others to cooperate for their plan to work. Luckily, nobody seemed to argue with this, and everyone just went back to sitting in silence.
After the seven minutes were up, Miette and Nini were released from the closet, both of their faces red. They silently went back to their places in the circle and immediately sat down, not making eye contact with anyone else. Mairin was grinning .
“So,” Mairin started, “You two have anything you want to share with the class?”
“ No ,” Miette snapped, sternly.
“We were just… talking,” Nini explained, flustered. Neither of them bothered looking up at Mairin whenever they said this.
“Hm, alright,” Mairin shrugged it off, “Anyways, now onto the next pair of unwilling victims!” Mairin reached their hand into the bowl and strategically pulled out two pieces of paper. They smirked, and loudly announced the names,
“Clemont and Sawyer!”
Sawyer, who had not said a word ever since the game started, suddenly sat up straight in surprise. Clemont’s face went red and he looked down at his lap. A few of the others started laughing and cheering. Clemont and Sawyer attempted to avoid eye contact as the laughter went on.
“What’s the holdup, you two?” Serena suddenly giggled, “You have a supply closet awaiting you!” This caused a few more laughs from the group as Sawyer and Clemont both hesitantly stood up and started walking towards the closet.
“Don’t have too much fun in there without me!” Ash called out after them, grinning. Clemont shot him a glare over his shoulder while Sawyer hid his face in his hands. A few seconds later, the closet door shut behind them. Almost as soon as it did, Shauna turned to the rest of the group.
“Oh, we have to go spy on them!” Shauna giggled.
“No way,” Mairin shook their head, “We already agreed to no spying, no matter the circumstances.”
“Yeah, besides, I don’t want to hear what my brother gets up to,” Bonnie wrinkled her nose up in disgust, “We should just wait it out.”
Clemont awkwardly rocked back and forth on his heel. The supply closet was small, and there was only a foot or two between him and Sawyer. Ever since they first got into the closet, both boys had been purposefully avoiding eye contact with each other. They stood there in awkward silence for a few minutes before Clemont finally decided to break the silence.
“Sooo…” Clemont attempted to start up a conversation, but he was quickly cut off by Sawyer.
“Do you like Ash?” Sawyer suddenly blurted. Clemont was slightly taken aback by the bluntness of the question. He felt his face slightly heat up.
“Woah… just… straight to the point, huh?” Clemont stammered out, dumbly. Sawyer looked away in embarrassment.
“Sorry, I just… It’s been bothering me for a while now and I really want an answer,” Sawyer admitted, “So… do you?” Clemont let out a small sigh. He knew this question was coming, he knew it was inevitable, and yet still, he didn’t want to answer it.
“I mean… I think so? I’m not really sure at this point,” Clemont awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck, “I think I’ve always kind of liked him, but I don’t want to ruin anything between us. Besides, I think I have feelings for someone else too...” Clemont wanted to internally punch himself for letting that last part slip. Sawyer wasn’t supposed to know that.
“Who?” Sawyer asked, slightly tilting his head, mimicking a curious puppy. Clemont’s face grew even hotter. It almost felt like the space between them was growing closer. It was suffocating.
“I… I can’t tell you,” Clemont stammered out. Clemont was secretly hoping Sawyer would drop the subject after that, but of course, knowing his luck, he didn’t.
“Do I know them?” Sawyer pressed on further.
“Yeah,” Clemont answered, shortly. Sawyer let out a semi-satisfied, “ hmph ,” and didn’t advance on the subject. The two boys continued to stand there in awkward silence. A thought was biting at the back of Clemont’s mind as he stared at the wall. Sawyer rarely talks about his feelings, the only exception being when he’s pressured to. Perhaps this could be an opportunity to figure out how Sawyer was feeling.
“Do you still like Ash?” Clemont asked, breaking the silence. Sawyer’s head perked up, and his face flushed. He looked down at his shoes.
“Yeah…” Sawyer admitted, a hint of sadness staining his tone, “I’ve tried to move on from him but… I just can’t. Don’t worry though, I won’t come between you two. He really likes you, Clemont. I hope whatever’s going on between you guys works out.” Sawyer finally looked up at him and gave him a sad smile. Clemont felt a pang in his chest seeing Sawyer’s sad expression.
“Sawyer, you know he-“ Clemont tried to tell Sawyer the truth, but he was cut off by a loud voice from outside the closet.
“Alright you two, seven minutes is over! You can come out now!” Mairin called out loudly. Perhaps Mairin’s inconvenient timing was a sign from the universe that Clemont shouldn’t tell Sawyer. Not just yet.
“What were you saying?” Sawyer asked.
“Nothing,” Clemont sighed, “Let’s just go.”
Sawyer and Clemont returned to the circle. Mairin scanned their faces for any sign of embarrassment, but there was… nothing. Not even a tint of blushing. Instead, the two boys just looked sad . Mairin felt themselves internally panic. Was this a bad idea? Did they mess everything up by meddling in other’s relationships? Mairin decided to push the thoughts back and just continue with the game. That’s a worry they’ll just have to deal with later.
“Alright, time for the next two victims!” Mairin chirped. Alain raised an eyebrow at that.
“When you put it that way, it sounds like people are getting tortured in there,” Alain pointed out.
“It basically is torture, if you think about,” Miette added, bitterly.
“Getting locked inside a dark enclosed space for more than five minutes? Basically my worst fear,” Shauna commented.
“Be careful what you wish for, Shauna,” Mairin giggled, mischievously. Shauna’s face paled as she realized she could be the next victim. Mairin automatically knew whose names they were going to draw next. They reached their hand into the bowl and pulled out the white pieces of paper.
“Serena and Shauna!” They announced, reading the papers. Shauna gasped, while Serena’s face flushed. Tierno barked out a laugh while Trevor covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to hold back his laughter.
“You are so cheating!” Shauna pointed accusingly at Mairin. Mairin knew what they were doing was cruel, but they didn’t care. It was hilarious to watch their friends get so embarrassed. Mairin just shot Shauna an innocent smile.
“Nope! As I said, it’s just the luck of the draw!” Mairin grinned, “It’s kind of a funny coincidence though. Now, into the closet, you two go!” Shauna crossed her arms over her chest, stubbornly.
“But, that’s a little embarrassing, don’t you think?” Serena giggled nervously.
“That’s the whole point of the game, dipshit,” Miette rolled her eyes. Mairin noticed the protective glare Shauna shot in Miette’s direction.
“It’s only seven minutes, Serena,” Clemont reassured the honey-blonde, “It will be over before you know it.” Serena pondered this for a minute, before finally standing up.
“Fine,” Serena declared, “But don’t think Shauna and I won’t be out for revenge.” Shauna stood up as well and nodded in affirmation. Mairin grinned, wickedly. Oh, this will be interesting .
[ Trevor - Mairin ]
Trevor: okay, what’s really going on here?
Mairin: wdym?
Trevor: don’t you think it’s a pretty big coincidence that all of the people who have romantic tension with each other have been placed in that closet?
Mairin: …
Mairin: okay fine you got me
Mairin: do you promise not to say anything?
Trevor: yee ofc
Mairin: so basically the whole party is just a plan to get the “couples” together
Mairin: alain, miette, nini, bonnie and i planned it
Trevor: that explains why you all left the gc that one day
Mairin: yee
Mairin: so i rigged the game so i know whose name is whose
Trevor: oh
Trevor: then why did you put miette and nini in there if they were part of the planning?
Mairin: i was just teasing them
Mairin: also yknow
Mairin: ✨ drama ✨
Trevor: oh
Mairin: so you won’t tell?
Trevor: yes but on one condition
Mairin: what are ur demands
Trevor: just put me and tierno in there and i won’t say a word <3
Mairin: FHSGXGSGS
Mairin: you are a freak
Mairin: but a reasonable one
The game continued on like that for a while. After Serena and Shauna’s time was up, they exited the closet with bright red faces, causing a trail of giggles throughout the group. Mairin continued to call out their friends’ names and even called out Tierno and Trevor’s names with a mischievous wink in Trevor’s direction. But after some time had passed Mairin finally decided it was time to get serious. Serena and Miette, whose name’s had just been called, were returning to their seats after their seven minutes. It’s a miracle they didn’t kill each other in there. Mairin started to pull out two pieces of paper, smiling to themselves.
“Ash and Sawyer!” They called out, after reading the piece of paper. Sawyer couldn’t contain his squeak of embarrassment and Ash’s face resembled a tomato. After the announcement, the entire group exploded into a chaos of whooping and hollering. Tierno even loudly wolf-whistled. Mairin figured it was payback after Ash had made some lewd remarks when Tierno and Trevor’s names were called.
“But… but I already went!” Sawyer tried to protest, weakly.
“So? I had to go three times! Suck it up!” Miette practically snarled. Mairin tried to contain their giggles. They were having so much fun teasing Miette that they nearly forgot they had paired her up with Shauna a few turns before Serena.
“Alright, you two, we don’t have all night! The supply closet awaits!” Mairin grinned mischievously as they said this. Ash and Sawyer reluctantly stood up and made their way into the closet.
“Okay, so, this has been bothering me all night. What did you and Clemont talk about in here?” Ash wasted no time getting down to the point. Sawyer wanted to curl up and die right at that moment.
“Oh… nothing!” Sawyer laughed, nervously. He hoped that Ash would just drop the subject and be satisfied with that answer, but something about the raven-haired boy’s expression told Sawyer he wasn’t.
“Well you two had to have talked about something ,” Ash groaned, “There’s no way you two just stood there and stared at each other for seven minutes.” Sawyer barely managed to suppress a laugh at that.
“You’d be surprised,” Sawyer grumbled, just loud enough for Ash to catch what he said. Ash frowned.
“Do you just not want to tell me? It’s fine if you don’t I just…” Ash trailed off, then sighed before continuing, “I guess I’m just curious if there’s anything going on between you two…” Sawyer’s eyes widened at that.
“No, no! It’s not like that at all!” Sawyer was quick to reassure the taller boy, “Trust me, I know how much you like Clemont so I would never come between that. Promise.” Ash hesitated for a second, then smiled.
“Alright,” Ash said, softly, “I trust you.” They stood in silence for a few seconds. Ash turned his head away and started staring off at nothing. Sawyer felt his stomach churn as his nerves suddenly overtook his body. Why was he so nervous? He’s been alone with Ash so many times before so… why was this different?
“Okay, look,” Sawyer suddenly broke the silence, causing Ash to snap back to attention, “While we’re in here, I kinda want some answers for myself… if… that’s okay?” Ash seemed to freeze for a minute, before slowly nodding.
“Sure,” The taller boy said, cooly, “What’s up?”
“Why… why do you act so differently towards Clemont and I?” Sawyer asked, hesitantly. Ash cocked an eyebrow in confusion.
“What do you mean?” He questioned. Sawyer furrowed his eyebrows. How was he supposed to phrase this?
“I mean… you just… you just act differently . Like you’re flirting with us or something. I know you’re just joking, but…” Sawyer trailed off and looked away before continuing, “It just doesn’t make sense. Why is it only us? Why don’t you act like this towards anyone else? It’s honestly so confusing. And if you like Clemont so much, then why are you always hitting on me ?” Sawyer suddenly realized he was rambling. It was almost as if all of his feelings came spilling out at once.
“I don’t hit on you that much,” Ash tried to defend himself, which only made Sawyer angrier.
“You kissed me! You literally kissed me!” Sawyer exclaimed, exasperated, “Remember that day you came over after I snapped at Tierno in the group chat? Shauna asked if we had actually kissed yet and then you just randomly kissed me!”
“It was just on the cheek!” Ash protested.
“It was still a kiss!” Sawyer snapped, “Just because it was on the cheek doesn’t mean your lips didn’t touch my face!”
“It was nothing ! It meant nothing!” Ash suddenly exclaimed, angrily.
Silence hung in the air for a while after Ash yelled that. The two of them just stared at each other, anger taking over both of their expressions. As they stood there in silence, Sawyer suddenly realized this is the first time they have yelled at each other like that. The others probably heard from outside the closet, but Sawyer didn’t really care. As Sawyer examined Ash’s raged expression, he suddenly realized just how much he wanted to kiss the taller boy.
With a sudden surge of newfound confidence, Sawyer stepped forward, grabbed the collar of Ash’s shirt, and hastily pressed his lips against the raven-haired boy’s.
The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, before Sawyer pulled away, stepping back so he could look at Ash.
“Was that just nothing ?” Sawyer asked, sternly. Ash stood there, a pink tint to his cheeks, with a bewildered and shocked expression on his face. Seeing as the boy had no intention of replying, Sawyer continued speaking.
“Look, I don’t care if you continue to hit on me, I just want to make sure- mmph! ” Sawyer was suddenly cut off by a pair of lips reconnecting with his own. Sawyer’s eyes widened as he slowly started to register what was happening. Ash was kissing him. And Sawyer had no intention of pulling away anytime soon. Sawyer let his eyes fall closed as he slowly wrapped his arms around the taller boy’s neck. Ash’s arms snaked around his waist, pulling him closer.
They stayed like that for a while, only pulling away occasionally for air.
“I really like you,” Ash said softly, as he pulled away for a few seconds.
“I like you too,” Sawyer whispered back, then leaned forward and continued the kiss.
“Okay so, I can’t be the only one who heard yelling in there, right?” Tierno asked the group. A few people nodded, while a few people verbally agreed.
“Yeah, they definitely sounded like they were arguing,” Shauna agreed.
“I’ve never heard Sawyer yell like that before,” Nini commented.
“I hope they’re alright,” Clemont said, softly, just loud enough for Mairin to hear him. The blond hadn’t taken his eyes away from the closet as soon as the yelling started. The yelling stopped after a while, but the group was still left concerned.
However, everyone’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of an alarm going off. The timer was buzzing on Bonnie’s phone. The young girl picked it up and stopped the time.
“Alright, time’s up, you two!” Bonnie called towards the closet. The group anticipated the closet door flying open, yet nothing happened.
“Ash! Sawyer! Time’s up! You can come out now!” Mairin yelled out, trying their best to ignore the obvious pun they could make in this situation. Still, nothing happened. Just before Mairin could assume the worst, the closet door suddenly opened and Ash stepped out, followed by Sawyer. Ash seemed unfazed while Sawyer was avoiding eye contact with the group.
The two boys returned to the group and sat down on the floor in their abandoned spots. Everyone’s eyes seemed to be on them.
“So… how did it go in there, you two?” Mairin broke the silence by asking.
“It was good,” Ash shrugged while Sawyer just silently nodded. Mairin felt their stomach squirm. Arceus, did it happen again? Did they somehow manage to ruin another one of their friends’ relationships? While Mairin was lost in thought, Alain decided to speak up.
“So, do you all want to keep playing?” Alain asked the group. Everyone seemed sort of hesitant.
“I dunno… I’m kinda tired…” Shauna admitted, stretching her arms above her head.
“Yeah, we should stop playing,” Miette was quick to jump in. Mairin pretended to not see the glare Miette shot in Mairin’s direction after she said that.
“I agree with Shauna, I’m pretty tired,” Tierno commented, and Trevor nodded in agreement.
“I bet you are, after you and Trevor were-“ Ash tried to throw in a sly comment but Mairin was quick to cut him off.
“OKAY!” They yelled, “I guess that’s it then. Thanks for playing, everyone! Let’s get the sleeping bags ready.”
Everyone was asleep in their sleeping bags that were scattered across the lab floor. Mairin was laying a few feet away from Alain’s sleeping bag, and a distance away from where Miette and Nini’s sleeping bags are. Clemont had decided that he wasn’t going to leave Bonnie’s side, so he placed his sleeping bag next to her’s. Tierno and Trevor had fallen asleep next to each other, holding hands. Shauna and Serena had placed their sleeping bags next to each other, and they had been previously silently giggling to each other before sleep eventually overtook them. As for Ash and Sawyer, their sleeping bags were next to each other, as well.
Mairin laid awake on the lab floor. They were pretty sure they were the only one still awake. They couldn’t quite comprehend everything that happened. Was this game worth it? Did they mess everything up by planning this party? Mairin felt like an awful friend at this point. Suddenly, a quiet voice pulled them out of their thoughts.
“…long have you known?” They were able to catch the last bit of what the voice was saying. It was Ash’s voice.
“Honestly, ever since we met at Laverre City. When you bumped into me at the counter it was like… first sight, y’know? Ah… sorry I guess that’s kinda cheesy,” That was Sawyer’s voice. So those two were awake. What were they talking about? Mairin craned their head to listen closely to their quiet conversation.
“No, it’s okay, I like cheesy,” Ash whispered, “For me, it was during our visit to Snowbelle. After losing that gym battle, I spent some time in the woods to… just think, I guess. I was so upset about losing in front of you and I didn’t even realize why. Then it occurred to me that I really just wanted to impress you.”
“You didn’t have to impress me,” Sawyer whispered back, “I’m already impressed with everything you do, Ash.”
“Thanks. That… means a lot,” Ash said softly, “So, do you think we should tell the others?” Mairin’s eyebrows furrowed. What secret were they hiding?
“No, I think Tierno and Trevor had it pretty planned out,” Sawyer responded, “Let’s just let them figure it out for themselves.” Silence hung in the air for a moment before Sawyer broke the silence.
“So… what does that make us?” He whispered.
“I guess… boyfriends? I mean… only if that’s okay with you… I don’t want to rush into anything…” Ash stammered, softly.
“It’s okay with me,” Sawyer whispered, affectionately, “More than okay, actually.”
“Good,” Ash whispered back, “I’m glad.” The two boys fell into silence for a minute, before softly wishing each other, “goodnight,” and then the silence resumed once more. Mairin rolled over, satisfied.
Mairin slowly let their eyes fall shut, a sly smile appearing on their face.
Mission accomplished.