He can't sleep.
It's been the longest day of his entire life. He'd watched as Lumiose City was destroyed by his own handiwork. He'd seen hundreds of people and Pokemon fleeing for their lives, and looked on in horror as the very thing he'd been trying to prevent came to pass before his very eyes. The look of terror in Mairin's eyes would burn in his memory for a long time to come. Of course, in the end, he would have to say everything turned out right. They had stopped Zygarde and the Megalith, and Chespie was safe and Lysandre was gone. Professor Sycamore had even booked him and Mairin a couple of rooms in a nearby hotel for the night. He still shudders to think what would have happened if Ash and the others hadn't been there to help him, though.
He turns over again with a restless sigh, staring out the window across from his bed. He's so tired, he feels like he could sleep for a week. But something keeps nagging at the back of his mind, prying his eyelids open, forcing his body to move. Through his window, he can see the dark shapes of the cruel black vines that tore Lumiose apart in the distance. His fist clenches against his pillow. How could he have been so blind? How could he have let that happen? Angrily, he turns over again, his back to the window, trying to shut out the feelings of guilt and horror. It was because of his arrogance that so many people and Pokemon were hurt. Mairin could have been killed, all because he was too desperate to see what was right in front of him the whole time.
He punches his pillow angrily and sits up with a frustrated groan. He can't lie here anymore. He needs to move, do something to get rid of the ache in his chest. Perhaps a walk in the night air will clear his head. He shoves his bare feet into his boots and throws his jacket on over his t-shirt. Grabbing his room key, he approaches the door, hand raised towards the handle, when a soft knock stops him in his tracks. He opens it to find Mairin standing in the hallway, clutching a pillow close to her chest and biting her lip nervously.
"What's wrong?" he asks immediately, reaching out to cup her shoulders in his hands. She blinks, surprised at urgency in his tone, and hurries to alleviate his apparent anxiety.
"N-nothing," she stammers. "I just...I couldn't sleep, and I was wondering if you were still awake..." She trails off and looks away, cheeks flushing. Alain suddenly feels very foolish. Of course she's fine. She's been in the hotel all evening. Nothing could have happened to her here. He quickly releases her shoulders and brings a hand up to rub the back of his neck. "Did I wake you up?" she asks meekly. He shakes his head.
"I was already up." There is an awkward moment of silence. Mairin twirls a loose strand of hair between her fingers as her gaze wanders up and down the hallway, trying to avoid Alain's. "...You need to get some sleep," he says at length. "After...everything that's happened." After everything I did to you, he adds mentally, and the truth of the statement burns like ice in his chest. She shakes her head, her breathing becoming more rushed. Her eyes meet his at last, and he's surprised to see tears welling up in them.
"I...I don't want to be alone anymore..." she whimpers. With a quiet sob, she drops her pillow and lunges forward, throwing her arms around his waist and burying her face in his chest. She's gotten a lot taller since the last time they were together... Alain feels his heart jump into his throat. Slowly, carefully, he lets his arms fall into place around her, running his hand up and down her back. He swallows a few times.
"...Me either," he croaks, bowing his head and resting his cheek in her hair. They stay like that for a minute or so, the silence broken only by Mairin's occasional sniffles. It is then that Alain realizes why he couldn't sleep. The silence between them is heavy with unspoken words, words that should have been spoken a long time ago, before any of this happened. He can't rest until he's settled this, or at least made some headway. Reluctantly, he eases back from her embrace, bending down to pick up the pillow she dropped and tucking it back in her arms. He then stands aside, giving her a clear path into his room. She forces a smile and brushes tears away from her face before walking past him into the room.
They sit side by side on the edge of his bed for a while, waiting for one of them to collect their thoughts. Mairin grips Alain's arm tightly, leaning her wet cheek against his shoulder. His hands are clasped tightly between his knees, clenching and unclenching nervously as he searches for the right words.
"Mairin..." he begins at last, his voice trembling. "I'm so, so sorry."
"Don't-" She begins to protest, but he cuts her off.
"I hurt you. And Chespie. I'm the reason you almost..." He trails off and swallows, deciding to let that particular word go unsaid. He clenches his teeth and screws his eyes shut, willing his voice to keep steady. "And I'm sorry. I'm sorry I tried to leave you in Hoenn. I'm sorry for...for what I said to you. I'm sorry for every Arceus-cursed thing I did to you."
"Please, stop..." Mairin whimpers, squeezing his arm. "You don't have to-"
"It's my fault." His breathing becomes ragged and quick. "Everything that happened...It was because of me. Because of my arrogance. I thought...I thought I couldn't protect you. So I pushed you away and put you in even more danger because I was too stupid to-"
"Alain!" she barks, her normally sweet voice coming out sharp and angry. He stops, his shoulders heaving, trying to get a grip on all the emotions writhing and tangling in the pit of his stomach. Mairin buries her face in his sleeve, murmuring a quiet apology for her outburst. "I don't want you to feel bad anymore..." she says, her voice muffled in his shirt. "I just want things to go back to the way they were. I-I don't want to think about what happened anymore. Chespie's awake now, and you're safe, and we're together again, and I just want to think about that now. Okay?" He releases a long, shuddering breath before nodding slowly.
"Okay." He cautiously brings his other arm up and cups her cheek, brushing away a few more stray tears.
"Alain?" she asks after a moment, looking up at him. "What are you going to do now?" He bites his lip, caught off-guard by the question. What is he going to do now? He could try to get even stronger, but now that Mairin is safe with him again, it seems rather pointless. He's not sure Professor Sycamore would want his help in the lab anymore either, especially after everything he's done.
"...I don't know," he answers after a while. He expects her to press for a better answer, but is surprised when she leans against him again with a satisfied little sigh.
"Well, whatever it is," she says softly. "I want to go with you." His heart swells, and even though he has no idea where he's going to go, he feels like things are going to turn out alright. Overcome with relief, he presses a gentle kiss to the top of her head as he thumbs away the last of her tears.
"...Okay."
It doesn't take too long for her to get sleepy after that, and he escorts her back to her room, feeling like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders for the first time in months. She hugs him tightly and says goodnight with a yawn, before stumbling back into her room for some much-needed rest. He strolls back to his room, suddenly very tired, and peels off his jacket and boots. As he lies in bed, he looks out the window one last time. The dark shapes that are a testimony to his foolishness seem to look a little smaller now. He knows he has a long way to go before he can make up for everything he did, but he feels content now, knowing that Mairin will be by his side the whole time.
A/N: So um...It's a bit embarrassing to admit, but the only reason I watched the entire XYZ series was because I wanted to know what happened to Alain and Mairin. It is thus far, one of only two of the Pokemon Anime series I have actually watched from beginning to end, the other one being the original Kanto series. But of course, this being a children's show, they left a lot of things unsaid and unexplored. So this is meant to be exactly what the title says; closure on Alain and Mairin's relationship. I was desperately hoping that the anime would take time to show us Alain and Mairin actually make up with each other and make plans for the future, but all we got was half of an apology and five seconds of them actually being in the same area together before Ash went and stole the spotlight again. So this is my interpretation of what happened immediately following the slightly lackluster conclusion we were given. Like my last Pokemon fanfic, this is more guilty pleasure than anything else, but I hope somebody out there likes it besides me.
Ciao!
-NikiBogwater