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“Snowed in?” Nessa repeated in disbelief, “How is that even possible? This is a ski resort.”
The resort manager cringed at her tone, nervously twiddling with his tie. “I understand that, ma’am, but with the heavy snowfall, they’ve closed all the roads and grounded all the Flying Taxi’s until it clears up. I’m afraid no one will be able to leave until it’s safe to do so.”
There were mutters all around you as your fellow gym leaders took in the news. This was definitely not how you’d expect the yearly Leader’s Retreat to go. Past trips up to the local ski resort up in the snowy mountain peaks of northern Circhester have always gone without a hitch. The long weekend getaway was enjoyable, after a few days of skiing and skating and enjoying warm drinks surrounded by familiar laughing faces, you were ready to head back home and sleep in your own bed.
Until now, of course. You tried to not let your disappointment show as you looked out the nearest window at the white-out storm that was whirling snow in every direction.
“Could we get some fire-types out to melt the snow?” Raihan tried suggesting, “at least to clear the roads?”
The manager shook his head. “Even with a Pokemon’s help, we couldn’t clear it fast enough. The melted snow would just freeze over and make it even more dangerous.”
“And of course, Mom left earlier today with the others,” you heard Gordie mumble, and sighed in agreement. Melony had indeed left earlier that morning with Kabu, Allister, Bea, and Opal, and her ice-types would have definitely come in handy.
“The most important thing we hand do right now,” the manager was saying, “is ensuring that you, our guests, and everyone’s Pokemon stay safe and warm. This storm shouldn’t last longer than tonight, but we’ll provide a proper update in the morning. Your rooms will be free of charge for tonight, of course.”
And that was that. Once the manager shuffled away to deal with another issue, your friends grouped together in a circle.
“Well, what now?” Raihan asked, crossing him arms.
“There’s not much we can really do,” Leon said. Despite not being regional Champion anymore, Leon was still invited to the Leader’s Retreat, and you were grateful for his natural tendency to step into a leadership role so you wouldn’t have to.
“Even the lifts are closed right now,” Nessa pointed out as she glanced at her phone, “so I guess we’ll just have to hang out around the lodge.”
Everyone shrugged and nodded. Phones were pulled out of pockets as everyone updated family members and gym teams on the situation.
“I know, mom, I’m staying safe, “you heard Leon say with a grin, “Just make sure Hop doesn’t eat all my chips.”
“No, the roads are closed,” went Nessa, “I know! That’s what I said!”
“You’re in charge for another day,” said Raihan, “just make sure the place stays upright until I get back.”
After sending your secretary a quick email explaining the situation (gosh, how weird was it that you have a secretary), you took a few steps back and made your way to the huge windows that overlooked the ski hills. You couldn’t even see the chairlifts through the snow, and watched as your breath made a frosty circle on the glass when you sighed. It could be a lot worse, you supposed. At least you were somewhere warm, with food and a place to sleep, and with good company.
Though some company was more… pleasant than others. You pinched your lips together as you gazed at the reflections of the other gym leaders milling behind you, your sight landing on one in particular that made your heart pound.
Even though he technically wasn’t a gym leader either, Piers had still managed to sneak up to the resort in place of his sister, Marnie, who wasn’t present. (When asked why, Piers would say it was “because she’s a moody teenager who doesn’t wanna go on family vacations.”) You had to admit, you were more than a little fond of Piers, and though you tried to keep your relationship professional with your newer role as champion, you still found yourself being drawn to him more than the others.
You felt your heart race when you noticed him approaching you from behind, slipping his phone into his back pocket as he took a spot next to you by the window.
“Updating Marnie on your sitch?” you asked him, your fingers weaving together in the warm pouch of your hoodie.
“Yeah,” Piers said as he looked out at the storm, “not that she’d be worried ‘bout me.”
You smiled a little before nudging his arm with your elbow. “Of course, she’d be worried about you. Why wouldn’t she be?”
Piers snorted at that. He glanced at you with a knowing look in his eye. “How’re you doin’? You holdin’ up okay?”
You sighed again. He could always read you like an open book. It was one of those things that made him just so darn likeable.
“I think so,” you said, lowering your voice, “I’m just starting to feel a little burnt out.”
“I feel you,” Piers murmured with a nod, “It feels like a lot after a couple’a days.”
You nodded, and the two of you glanced back at your small group as Raihan threw his head back in laughter. You smiled at Bede’s bright red face as he stammered something, but jolted when you felt something cool gently brush your hand.
You glanced at Piers as he drew his hand back. “If ya feel like ya need to hide for a bit,” he muttered, not looking at you, “my bunkmate left this mornin’, so you can duck into my room for a bit. If you want.”
He turned to you then, and you gave him what you hoped was a shy smile. Even though Nessa was the only one left to share your room with, she tended to be a little… loud. Not intentionally, of course, but you could only take so many nights of her talking in her sleep. The thought of having a nap in silence sounded heavenly right now.
“I might have to take you up on that,” you whispered as you tapped his hand back.
You didn’t get to see how he responded before Raihan glanced at the two of you and waved. “We’re gonna go raid the multipurpose room and see what board games there are! Wanna come?”
---
After a few hours of various board and card games and good-natured yelling, you could feel yourself start to fade. You could only watch Bede fight Gordie over a property in Monopoly so many times before you started to lose interest.
You stifled a yawn as you glanced around your surroundings. Both you and Milo had lost of your money to the community chest quite a few turns ago, so he had since wandered over to where Raihan, Leon, and Nessa were in the middle of what looked to be a very intense game of Scrabble. He would occasionally lean forward to whisper words in Nessa’s ear, much to Raihan’s protest.
“Hey, no helping!”
Milo looked up and shot Raihan his gentle smile. “I can come help you too, if you’d like.”
You bit back a smile at the look on Raihan’s face; torn between outrage at the implication that he needed help and contemplative at the idea of beating Leon.
Piers had followed the group to the multipurpose room but didn’t stick around to join the chaos that was Monopoly, and you would be lying if you said you weren’t curious as to where he ended up. Getting out of your seat with a stretch, you bid your competition farewell (your words falling on deaf ears as Bede once again was arguing with Gordie over how much he owed for landing on Bede’s railroad), and you couldn’t resist taking a peek at Leon’s Scrabble tiles over his shoulder as you made your way out of the room.
“Bonus,” you whispered, and Leon shot you a big grin as you left. You laughed at Raihan’s spluttering, but his protests became muffled as the door closed behind you, leaving you alone in the quiet hallway.
You let loose a contented sigh as you tucked your hands in your hoodie pocket as you hung a right, admiring the paintings of snowy mountaintops and majestic looking Stantlers and Ursarings that lined the hall as you walked past. The resort was truly remarkable in its design, with its wooden beams and structures that made it feel like you were living in an enchanted forest, but you were really starting to miss the comforts of your own home. The last few months have been exhausting, with you trying to settle in to your new role as Regional Champion. Countless interviews, public appearances, and meetings with the Galarian Pokemon League left you feeling drained, so you were glad when you were informed of the Gym Leader’s Retreat and grateful for a few days off.
Now though, you felt like you needed another vacation, just to recover from said days off.
You made a little popping noise with your lips as you wandered past an empty conference room, peering in briefly to check out the spacious room. The lodge was quite large, and you hadn’t taken time to really explore it yet, but you were debating on taking some time to poke around or to head back upstairs for a quick nap.
That was when you recalled Piers’ offer from earlier. You swallowed, feeling your cheeks grow warm at the… implications of offering his room up to you.
B-but that’s not what he meant and you know it! You chided yourself as you turned the corner, he’s just being nice! Being a good… a good friend.
You swallowed the lump in your throat that always seemed to form as you once again tried to convince yourself that being “good friends” was enough.
A distant sound caught your attention, distracting you from your thoughts. It didn’t take more than a heartbeat to recognize the gentle noise as a piano.
Letting your curiosity get the better of you, you bit your lower lip to resist the smile threatening to grow as you hurried down the hall, following the piano music to a heavy looking wooden door. It was ajar just a crack, and you glanced at the golden plaque reading Ballroom as your fingertips grazed the glossy wood, pulling it an inch towards you to give you a better look inside.
The room was huge. You had no idea whereabouts this room was hidden from the public outside, but the large windows were a sure sign that it wasn’t tucked away underground somewhere. The snow outside still whirled in all directions, creating a cool glow that cast over the shining wood floor.
You couldn’t resist pulling the door open a little more to take in more of the ballroom. Huge wooden beams that lined the walls were sculpted to resemble thick tree trunks that reached the ceiling, and a large chandelier hung unlit in the center of the room, created to look like an intricate woven mass of branches. The room was empty, save for a few folding tables were propped up against the wall by the windows, but your eyes were drawn to the source of the beautiful piano music that rang loudly in the vast space.
It was a gorgeous grand piano, deep shining black. Despite the visual cues that indicated that this room wasn’t used often, you could tell that the hotel staff took good care of this instrument in particular. It sounded pristine, like it was professionally tuned regularly. And you could almost see your reflection from across the room in the polished ebony wood.
The only thing stopping you from venturing forth to plunk out a few tender notes was the young man who already sat at the keys, currently playing a stunning rendition of a classic ballad.
You felt your heart clench as you watched Piers play. He sat with his back turned to you, and you were almost grateful that he couldn’t see you as you took in the sight of him getting lost in the music he played. He was silent, but no words were needed for the melody to flow smoothly. You were entranced by the way his head would move along with the music, causing his hair to sway gently from side to side. It was almost hypnotic. And in a weird way, comforting.
Piers suddenly paused his playing, and you froze when he turned around to look at you.
“Were ya just gonna stand there starin’?” he asked you, a half-smile on his lips.
You swallowed, ignoring how warm your cheeks felt at being caught. “Heh, sorry,” you said, scratching the back of your neck, “I’m not a creep, I swear.”
Piers rolled his eyes good-naturedly as you approached him.
“How did you know it was me?” you asked as you stopped next to him.
Piers waved over the polished wood surface of the piano. “Saw yer reflection.”
You hummed in acknowledgement. Now that you were closer, you traced your fingertips across the ivory keys, smiling at the smooth sensation.
“I haven’t played a piano in years,” you admitted quietly.
Piers shuffled over to his left, motioning you to take a seat.
“I didn’t know ya played,” he said as you slid in beside him,
“Well, I didn’t know you played, either,” you said, “you’re really good.”
“Psh,” Piers replied, but you saw the corners of his mouth rise a tad as he tried not to smile, “I honestly just dabble. Haven’t taken a proper lesson in over 10 years.”
It was your turn to roll your eyes. “Show-off.”
Piers laughed, the sound making you smile back. The two of you nestled into a comfortable silence as Piers lifted his hands and began to play again. You watched as his fingers danced over the keys of the piano, the music filling your whole being until your head swayed softly beside him. Curiosity got the better of you, and after a few minutes of watching Piers’ hands move up and down the keys, you reached out and rested your right hand on the upper octaves.
Piers, not stopping, turned to give you a gentle smile, and that was all it took for you to start playing along with his melody. It was a simple harmony, but the excitement of playing again made you smile.
After a few minutes, the song ended, and you almost laughed out loud.
“Thank Arceus I’m still decent at that,” you said with a grin, looking at Piers, “no noticeable mistakes!”
He looked back at you with a soft expression. “Don’t beat yerself up so much,” he said, “You did great.”
You held his eye contact for a moment. He was being genuine, you could tell. Piers was always genuine with you.
You said nothing back, instead leaning over to rest your shoulder against his with a smile. The silence wrapped around the two of you again, and you gently sighed as you felt Piers lean up against you as well.
Unable to stop yourself, you reached out and started playing again. Piers watched as you straightened your back, pulling himself away to give you space as you let your hands drift over the keys. It wasn’t a complex song; quite the opposite, in fact. But you’d always liked to play it whenever you had the chance.
You felt something brush against the small of your back, and you tried not to smile when you realized that Piers was leaning back on the bench and had snuck his arm around you, the heel of his palm gently grazing your hip. This was the closest thing you’ve had to any form of intimate contact with him since your feelings had developed to this point, and it took all of your concentration to not hit a wrong note as you finished your song.
“Wonderfully done,” Piers said, and you scoffed.
“Please,” you said, turning to look at him, “a child could play that.”
Your heart pounded when you clued in at the close proximity you found yourself to Piers’ face. He lifted an eyebrow, clearly unfazed by your presence.
“A child wouldn’t have been able to play with me in near-perfect harmony,” he retorted, “and by ear, no less.”
“Excuse me?” you asked, pulling a hand to your chest in mock offense, “Near-perfect?”
Piers said nothing, but his eyes seemed to glow in the icy light that shone through the massive windows. It might have been your overexcited imagination, but you thought you saw him glance down at your lips for a fraction of a moment.
It did seem like a perfect opportunity. You tilted your head a tad, and leaned in a bit closer.
“Um,” you started, your voice barely over a whisper, but no other words came to mind.
Piers didn’t seem to care, though, and the look he was giving you was making you glad you were sitting down, because you might have collapsed had you been on your feet. There was no way you were imagining his expression; you had never seen such a tender look on the young man’s normally stoic face. Your breath hitched when he leaned in closer as well.
Biting your lip, you decided to throw caution to the wind and closed your eyes. You could feel his weight shift, and you thought your heart would leap right out of your chest when you felt the ghost of his breath against your lips.
You couldn’t believe this was happening! Everything you’d dreamed of, every little story you’d cooked up seemed to be coming—
“Um, excuse me?”
You and Piers both jumped so hard that he jerked his knee and smacked it against the underside of the piano. You spun around to face the door so fast that you almost fell off the bench, your heart racing as Piers cursed in pain behind you.
A younger girl stood by the door, a hotel staff member by the looks of her uniform. She looked very sheepish at interrupting what was clearly a tender moment.
“I-I’m so sorry,” she whispered, her voice cracking, “but this room is s-supposed to be off limits to patrons right now.”
“A-ah!” you said loudly, hating the way your voice squeaked as you hurriedly got to your feet, “Okay! Okay, no worries! Okay!”
You turned to look at Piers, still doubled over in pain over the piano keys. “A-are you okay?”
“Fine,” he said through grit teeth as he stood, “I’ll live.”
“O-okay,” you replied, your voice still squeaky, and you berated yourself for the number of times you’d said okay in the past thirty seconds.
Once Piers was out of the way, you closed the lid of the piano, covering the keys. You took one last glance at the shining piano before turning and following Piers out of the room, not making eye contact with anything but the back of his ankles.
The staff member didn’t say anything either as she closed the heavy doors behind the three of you. You wondered if she wanted the ground to open up and swallow her as much as you wanted it to yourself right now.
“Sorry,” she said again, her voice small, “P-please feel free to use any other of our amenities at this time.”
You swallowed again with a nod. “Okay.” Dammit!
She nodded back before turning on her heel and walking back down the hall. Once she was out of sight, you slumped against the wall and hid your face in your hands.
“Oh my Arceus,” you groaned, “Piers, I’m so sorry.”
His silence made you wonder for a second that he had taken off, and you took a peek through your fingers. He was still standing in the hallway with you, but he too was hiding his face in his palm.
“You oka—” you inhaled, stopping yourself from saying okay again, “You good?”
No response. Piers only turned his head.
You frowned. Was he refusing to look at you?
“Piers?” you tried again, and reached out for him. You rested your fingers on his wrist, and that was when you noticed that his shoulders were shaking.
“Piers?” you asked once more, more pointedly this time. And this time, Piers pulled his hand from his face so you could finally get a better look at his red cheeks and enormous grin.
“Are—are you laughing?” you said in disbelief as Piers burst out laughing. You were too stunned to even register that this was the first time you had ever heard him laugh this hard, and you found yourself staring at him as his hands clutched at his ribs.
“That—” he wheezed, “that could not have gone worse!”
You blinked as he continued to giggle. Piers held up the leg that had cracked against the piano. “I’m gonna have a friggin’ battle scar from this!” he said, almost toppling over as he laughed.
You were unable to stop yourself from smiling along. Once the shock started to die down, you found yourself starting to giggle, too, your laughter growing until you were laughing almost as loudly as Piers.
“I—I must’ve said okay like, twenty times!” you said, gasping for air. Piers looked at you before he doubled over in laughter again.
“Arceus, stop!” he cried, his voice high-pitched, “I can’t take it anymore!”
Your legs couldn’t hold you up anymore, and you slid down against the wall until you sat on the carpeted hallway floor, tears streaming down your cheeks. Piers flopped down beside you, gasping for air.
It took a few moments for the two of you to come back down to earth. Wiping your cheeks, you groaned out loud.
“Ow, my stomach,” you said weakly, “I don’t ever want to laugh again.”
Piers chuckled in response. “Oh, man,” he said, “that was really bad.”
You almost asked him if he meant the laughing fit, or the attempt at kissing you in the hotel ballroom, but decided against it. For all you knew, the attempt at a kiss could just be your hopeful, romantic soul making something out of nothing.
Playing it off like it was nothing big, you nudged his shoulder with yours.
“I actually had a reason to find you, you know,” you said, “not just to spy on you.”
Piers chuckled again. “Darn. Had I’d known that, I wouldn’t have put on such a good show.”
You gave his arm a playful shove. “You had said something to me earlier about hiding in your room? I kinda want to take you up on that.”
You flushed at the look Piers gave you. “Nothing like that!” you said loudly, making Piers laugh again.
“D-don’t!” he whined, clutching his stomach, “It hurts to laugh.”
“Serves you right,” you said with a huff, “No, I was hoping to take a nap.”
“In my room?”
“Where it’ll be nice and quiet, yes!” you said as you got to your feet, “Nessa has a tendency to talk in her sleep.”
“Still?” Piers said as you offered him a hand. He took it, and you helped to hoist him off the floor as he spoke, “I’d have thought that she’d outgrown that by now.”
You shrugged, reluctantly releasing Piers’ hand. “She says it’s bad when she doesn’t sleep in her own bed.”
You and Piers made your way down the hallway towards the nearest elevator, continuing to discuss Nessa’s sleeping habits as if you were talking about the weather. From that, your conversation shifted to other gym leader’s little behaviors (“Have you ever noticed that Leon never wears shoes with laces? I’m convinced he doesn’t know how to tie his shoes.”) to your own (“I can’t swallow kale. I think my body just straight-up rejects it.”).
You found your heart feeling full as you approached Piers’ room. It was moments like these that made you love him just that much more – being around him made even the mediocrity of everyday life feel like something special. You didn’t deny it; you wished you could be like this all the time.
As Piers fished his door key out of his pocket, you had to admit it to yourself: you wish you could be like this with Piers all the time. Not just running into him at work events, not just seeing him at meetings or challenges. Not just fleeting conversations and funny faces from a distance. You’ve managed to sneak away from Wyndon to catch a couple of his shows every now and then, elated at the bright grins he would give you when he noticed you from the stage, but it wasn’t enough. You craved his company more than anyone else’s. No one else made you feel like you were worth more than your title or skills.
Piers opened the door and held it open for you. Something in the way he smiled at you made your heart pound again. Piers was something special, and you’d be darned if he didn’t make you feel like you were something special, too.
You gasped when you entered Piers’ room. “Your room has a fireplace?”
He shrugged as the door clicked shut behind him. “Yeah? Yours doesn’t?”
You shook your head as you glanced around. Maybe the room connected to yours had the fireplace, but Opal and Melony both claimed that room for themselves, leaving you, Nessa, and Bea to the room with the bunk beds. Comfy as they were, the queen-sized beds in Piers’ room looked twice as inviting as the twin-size bunks you slept on.
Piers flicked the switch on the wall that ignited the flames in the fireplace. Delighted, you sat on the comfy rug with crossed legs, relishing in the sudden warmth that surrounded you.
“Who did you get stuck bunking with?” you asked, nodding towards the other bed with its sheets removed.
“Kabu,” Piers said as he took a seat on the floor across from you, “but he was a much better roommate than Nessa, probably.”
“Oh, definitely,” you said with a grin, “much quieter, I’d imagine.”
Piers nodded. “Never heard him once, and he got up a lot earlier than me. Though to be fair, I could sleep through a hurricane.”
You giggled, and Piers grinned at you. The comfortable silence washed over you once more as the two of you watched the flames dance behind its glass protector.
“So how did you end up getting the big bed?” you asked, breaking the silence.
Piers chuckled. “Won the coin toss.”
“Oh, please,” you rolled your eyes.
“Hey, I won that fair and square, love,” Piers said with a smirk, “Don’t be too jealous of my skills.”
You scoffed, trying to not focus too hard on the fact that Piers just called you ‘love’.
“We didn’t even get a coin toss,” you mumbled as you nestled into your hoodie, your nose just poking out of the head hole, “we have too many older folks to compete with.”
You heard Piers stand up and make his way across the room. “Don’t let Melony hear ya call her that,” he said, laughter in his voice, “she’d freeze you in place and not defrost ya for months.”
You were about to sit up and look to see where he had gone when a dark weight dropped onto your head. Piers chuckled again as you scrambled out from under the blanket he had thrown over you, and you half-heartedly smoothed your hair down as you stuck your tongue out at him.
There was no mistaking it this time; Piers didn’t remove his gaze from your lips as you adjusted the blanket so it draped over your shoulders properly. In fact, it wasn’t until you cleared your throat that Piers snapped to attention, his cheeks bright in the warm lamplight. He nervously brushed his fringe out of his face, avoiding your eyes until you suddenly felt brave.
You let out a little whistle to get his attention. Piers turned to see you holding your arm out, and you jerked your head to beckon him closer.
“C’mere,” you said, your voice soft.
You could see the relief in Piers’ eyes as he scooted over to your side, his body flush with yours as you wrapped the blanket around him. Your hand grazed the fabric of his shirt as you drew your hand back, and debated on finding his hand and wrapping yours around it, but you didn’t want to come across as overwhelming. Instead, you folded your hands and placed them between your thighs.
Piers adjusted his position, resting his hand on his leg. If you didn’t know any better, you might’ve thought that his fingers were twitching as if he was holding himself back from taking your hand in his, but it was just the firelight. It must be.
“Hey,”
Piers’ voice was very quiet and soft. You turned to look at him, and blinked at the way his brows furrowed and how his teeth snagged on his bottom lip. He looked worried about something.
“Um,” he said, “about earlier.”
You felt your cheeks grow warm. “Like, by the piano?” you asked, your voice barely over a whisper.
Piers nodded a little. “I… I honestly can’t believe how badly I screwed that up.”
“I hardly think that staff member coming in was your fault,” you told him.
“I suppose,” Piers said with a sigh, “I just… I wanted it t’be, like, perfect. Y’know?”
You stared at him. “What do you mean?”
Piers looked at you now, and your heart thumped at the look in his eyes.
“I’ve been tryin’ to get you alone for a long time now,” he whispered, “to… to tell ya how much ya mean to me.”
You swallowed, your face burning. “Piers…”
“Marnie even agreed to let me come up in her place so I could tell ya how I feel,” Piers carried on, hand reaching up to fiddle with the choker around his neck, “but it was so difficult getting you on yer own. And when I finally had the perfect chance, I friggin’—”
But his rambling was cut short when you leaned forward and finally grazed your lips against his.
Piers’ eyes were wide when you pulled away, the kiss only lasting half a second, and you reached down to rest your hand over his.
“If it means anything,” you murmured, aware how breathless you sounded as you wove your fingers between his, “you mean a lot to me, too.”
Piers stared for maybe a second before he leaned back in, and you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling as he pressed his lips against yours, this time with purpose, his hands reaching around your shoulders to pull you closer. You felt yourself getting lost in his touch.
After a little while, you smiled into Piers’ chest as you sat in his lap. You felt the warmth of sleep threatening to take over, but made no effort to stop it.
And when you felt Piers press his lips against your forehead, you couldn’t stop yourself from smiling. It wasn’t long before you drifted off, and had the best sleep you’d had all weekend.