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‘Thank you, Shelly. Send me another update on your progress by tomorrow afternoon, stay safe.’
‘Alright, goodnight boss.’ Shelly replied, before all Archie could hear on the other end of the line was a dial tone, and he was alone again.
For the past few days, Team Aqua's higher ranking admins had been out at sea, attempting to pinpoint a secret entrance into the seafloor cavern deep in the middle of the ocean. They were sure they’d be able to find it within a day or two, but the unexpected storm that blew into the region the previous night had thrown a wrench in their plan.
The storm wasn’t any better on land either, Sonny, Archies Mightyena was huddled underneath the desk, curled up at his feet attempting to further shelter himself from the gales of wind and rain above their heads, hammering against the roof. Archie leaned back in his chair, resting his arms above his head.
He looked at the time on his computer, 23:42.
Thank Arceus, he thought to himself, the day was almost over. A week prior, Archie had put aside a mountain of work to get finished on this day specifically. He knew he would have needed a distraction to get through another Valentine's day alone.
He had given up on any sort of love outside of the love he had for his Pokemon a long time ago, but it still stung, even at his age.
If this had been a year or two ago, he would have spent the night wallowing away in his own pity, feeling sorry for himself, lamenting on past love through a bottle of whisky or two. But not this year, not anymore. Team Aqua were so close to their ultimate goal, of changing the world for the better, that he wasn’t gonna let something so silly like feeling lonely on a stupid holiday get in his way.
Sonny followed Archie into the kitchen, as he began to brew a cup of tea. He hadn’t had tea in months, whatever had put him in the mood for tea he hadn’t a clue, maybe it was the storm, which had begun to roar outside even louder. It makes Archie think of his father, if he were still here, he’d still be gearing up to go out and fish, no matter how dangerous the weather warnings were. Archie, however, was not his father, and was quite content with spending the night within the comfort of his own home.
The clock on the kitchen wall read 23:49.
He had been working for over 14 hours at this point, at the pace he was working, he could continue into the morning to hit his deadlines, but he decided it was probably time to call it a night.
He wandered into his bedroom, he had forgotten how much of a mess he had left it in, at least he had no guests to entertain, he thought, he hadn’t had any guests over in years, actually, now that he came to think about it. Sonny hopped and curled up onto the bed as Archie changed from one pair of pyjama pants into another, it must be midnight by now, surely?
Suddenly, his phone began to buzz.
He picked it up from his bedside table, expecting it to be Shelly or another one of his admins. He was surprised to see it was actually an alert from his door camera sensors. He sat down at the edge of his bed, and opened the app, curious to see who or what would be at his door at this time of night-
‘You have got to be kidding me.’ He muttered to himself.
It was as clear as day, there, on Archie’s doorstep, stood Maxie. He was soaked from the rain, with one arm holding himself up against the door, the other at his side, holding something. Why was he even outside in this storm? What is he thinking, turning up at his house? At this time of night? Today of all days?
Archie considered just ignoring him. Of course, any good man would have opened the door and let Maxie in, but then again, this was Maxie. Any word from his Team that their leader had let their greatest enemy into his home and Archie would never hear the end of it.
However, when the knocking began, he realised he couldn’t ignore him.
He checked the time on his phone, 23:55, and to think he had nearly escaped this wretched day alone.
The knocking was persistent, it was like he was trying to break the door in himself. Archie stood at the door, he didn’t want to open it, not today, not ever. He was so sure he had closed this door on Maxie years ago, but despite that, something within him couldn’t let him get blown away in the wind outside.
Arceus, he was a mess. Maxie’s wet hair stuck to his forehead, he was drenched in rain and sweat down to the bone, Archie’s suspicions were confirmed when he saw that the thing in his hands was a bottle of what looked to be booze. He was wasted, and appeared to be surprised Archie had even answered the door.
‘Get in.’ Archie snapped, as he pulled him in from the rain and slammed the door shut behind him. Maxie stumbled inside, almost tripping over himself. His face was flushed and red, he breathed heavily, leaning against the wall, getting what looked to be dirt all over Archie’s clean white walls. He could get angry about that later, he thought to himself, he had more pressing matters to deal with.
‘Well?’ Archie threw his arms up, waiting for some kind of response. ‘You gonna tell me why you’re here? I could get in a hell of a lot of trouble if anyone from my team discovered you were here.’
Maxie swallowed, what seemed to be guilt swam across his face, and he shuddered. He hiccuped, and suddenly cupped his hand over his mouth. He desperately muffled to Archie, as he began gagging, attempting to hold back his vomit.
This is ridiculous, he’s ridiculous, Archie thought to himself. He signalled to Maxie that the nearest bathroom was down the hall, and Maxie made a beeline towards it, before stopping at the entrance to the kitchen and running to the sink.
‘Fuck- no!’ Archie yelled as he ran after him, but it was too late. Maxie was hunched over his sink, vomiting everywhere. He had barely even made it there, Archie realised this when he narrowly avoided stepping on a small pool of vomit on the floor. It then suddenly, and embarrassingly, dawned on Archie that he wasn’t wearing socks, or a shirt.
Maxie’s whole body shuddered as he gagged over the sink, he breathed heavily and looked over his shoulder to Archie, who stood behind him awkwardly. Drool dripped down from his lips, his red hair tangled, stuck to his face, his eyes filled with what seemed to be sorrow. Lord, he looked pathetic, Archie thought to himself.
He began to blurt out what seemed to be an ‘I’m sorry’ before gagging and dunking his head back into the sink, Archie reluctantly reached his arm out and stroked his back. Hesitantly, he leaned over and scooped the hair out of Maxie’s face and held it back. His face turned red, this felt too intimate, as if they were back in College. Archie thought of the countless times he had to hold Maxie's hair back after one too many drinks after bar hopping on a Friday. Back then, it was all something they could laugh about when they were sober, but now, it was just pitiful. Archie can’t even remember the last time Maxie was fully sober in the past ten years.
While he would never admit it outloud how much he thinks about Maxie, Archie still wonders what went so wrong. He knew that Maxie had a bad childhood, but so did he, and he didn’t end up a useless drunk. He thinks back to when he and Maxie first met, he was so bright, nothing like the shell of a man that stood before him, puking his guts up in his sink now. It wasn’t exactly a secret by now that Team Magma was collapsing into itself, most of the important work had been pawned off to the Admins, Archie had heard from word of mouth that one of them had to take a semester of college off just to pick up the slack Maxie had left her. It was just pathetic, his whole team was just pathetic, Maxie was pathetic.
Still, he wonders what the tipping point in Maxie’s life was, maybe he was too smart for his own good, maybe he learned something about the ancient Pokemon he had spent his entire life devoted to that plunged him into despair. Sometimes, Archie wonders if this is all somehow his fault, but he prefers not to think about that too much.
Once it seems that Maxie is finally finished puking, he turns round to face Archie, his back resting against the sink, he stares at Archie, his chest heaving with stunted breaths. Archie remembered that he’s still shirtless and backs away, Maxie stutters.
‘I- I’m so-’
‘Oh cut the crap.’ Archie snaps. ‘Why in the world would you think coming to my apartment would be a good idea?!’ Maxie looked away, slumping down to the ground. Archie could tell he was holding back tears.
Archie was livid. ‘Wh- why were you even out there?! Are you actively trying to kill yourself in that storm? I knew you were struggling but Christ! Have you seen yourself? You’re a fucking mess!’
Maxie pouted, like a frustrated toddler not getting what he wanted. He pulled his knees up to his chin and wrapped one arm around them, the other searching for the empty bottle on the floor. He seemed so unfazed, so unbothered by the lecture Archie was giving him, like he had been through it before.
Arceus, Archie thought, I probably sound like his father right now.
He backed up and headed to the bathroom, abandoning Maxie on the kitchen floor. He stood at the sink, searching above through the medicine cabinet, before finding some over the counter painkillers from his last really bad headache. He closed the cabinet and grabbed a glass he had left from the morning, filling it up with water from the sink.
Once he had made his way back to the kitchen, he found Maxie sat in the same position he had been left in, only now Sonny had curled up by his side. Maxie was looking down at him, gently stroking the back of his neck, just the way Sonny liked it. Archie could make out the faintest smile on Maxie's face through the darkness.
Though he’d die before admitting it, seeing Maxie in some state of happiness, tranquility, whatever you want to call it did bring a little warmth to Archie’s heart.
‘Hey,’ Archie tossed the sleeve of painkillers in Maxie's direction, landing by his feet. Maxie flinched silently at the sound of the sleeve hitting the tiles, but he glanced up to meet Archie’s eyes for a moment, before looking away shyly and picking them up from the floor. Archie watched as his fingers shivered whilst trying to crack open the sleeve to retrieve the painkillers. Had his fingers always been as boney? Archie suddenly noticed how frail Maxie was beneath his clothes, which were still drenched from the rain outside. A rising pit in his stomach began forming, thinking about the last time Maxie had had a proper meal.
‘Ahem’ Maxie cleared his throat, attempting to get Archie’s attention. He looked down at Maxie, who was holding out one hand for the glass of water he was still holding.
Crap, had he been staring?
Archie bent down to pass the glass over to Maxie, the tips of their fingers brushed against each other softly, Archie’s face went red, and he immediately stood back up. This night had already spiraled into something Archie didn’t like, and the last thing he needed at that moment was to overcomplicate this even further. Yet he couldn’t help but watch in silence as Maxie’s neck bobbed back as he swallowed the painkillers.
‘I’ll be on the couch.’ Archie said as he backed out of the kitchen, ‘You can change when you, uh- feel like it, I guess.’
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Whilst he silently watched the kettle boil, listening to the faint noises of Maxie babbling to Sonny in the living room, it suddenly dawned on Archie that this was the first time in years he was preparing tea for somebody else.
Once Maxie had sobered up a bit, Archie tossed him a pair of old Pyjamas and told him he could stay the night, on the conditions that absolutely zero word got out to either of their teams, and if he slept on the couch. He had offered Maxie a cup of tea, even though it was now nearing 1am and he was exhausted from working, he had chalked it up to force of habit from his mothers hospitality whenever he saw her have guests around when he would stay at hers.
The sounds from the living room had died down, and as Archie creeped in with the two mugs of freshly brewed tea, he was expecting to find Maxie fast asleep. However, he instead found him sitting uptight, gently stroking Sonny’s back, who had dozed off in his arms.
‘He must really like you.’ Archie snickered, placing the mugs down onto the coffee table. Maxie looked up and chuckled softly, though he had changed into more dry clothes, his hair was still fairly wet, some of it still clinging to his forehead. It was nice to see Maxie like this, Archie thought to himself, but he couldn’t let himself enjoy this.
‘I’m uh-’ Maxie cleared his throat. ‘I’m really sorry for the way I’ve acted, you shouldn’t have let me stay-’
‘Don’t be silly,’ Archie interrupted. ‘Think of it as like- a business exchange. I owe you one now, don’t let me forget.’
‘Hah, thanks.’ Maxie reached for one of the mugs on the coffee table, blowing at the steam coming out of it. ‘You must think I’m a real fuck up, don’t you?’
Archie paused, and inhaled, before shaking his head. ‘Course not.’ He slowly sat onto the other side of the couch, making sure he didn’t wake up Sonny, who now lay between the two men. A heavy silence hung between the air, Archie broke it.
‘So, how did you even end up outside my place?’
‘I uh-’ Maxie’s face was turning red, he looked down at the ground, then up at the wall in front of him. How he didn’t see it before he had no clue, but where a TV would usually be, Archie had installed a massive fish tank full of some of his smaller Pokemon. ‘-I like the tank.’
‘What?’ Archie turned to look at the fish tank with Maxie, the two watched as a pair of Frillish swam by them as they played. ‘Oh, thanks. I built it myself.’ He quickly glanced over at Maxie, he looked like he had never seen a fishtank before, he chalked it up to him not wanting to talk about why he showed up at Archie’s door.
Then, a faint golden glow from a far corner of the tank caught Maxie’s attention.
‘Wait, is that-?’ He suddenly leaped off of the sofa and stepped over to the tank, startling Sonny awake. The pup hopped off the sofa and sluggishly walked into Archie’s bedroom, most likely so he could sleep undisturbed.
From a bed of weeds in the tank, a golden little Luvdisc swam excitedly up to meet Maxie’s face at the glass, she chirped with glee at the sight of an old companion, hurriedly darting around in circles. Maxie watched in what seemed to be both awe and astonishment.
‘You still have Lemon-!?’ He asked, giggling at the sight of the heart shaped Pokemon spinning around in the tank.
‘What? Yeah, of course I still have her.’ Archie replied in confusion. He stood up and walked over to the tank, joining Maxie by his side as Lemon darted between them, chirping away. ‘Why?’
Maxie’s smile dropped as his lower lip quivered, he sniffed, wiping his face with his palm. ‘I didn’t think you would have kept anything I gifted you.’
‘I couldn’t get rid of her, she uh-’
Archie looked back to Maxie, who was also looking back at him. Their eyes locked, Maxie staring at Archie in anticipation.
‘-she reminds me of the good times, I guess.’
Maxie exhaled, lightly chuckling to himself, Archie couldn’t help but let a smile form across his face also. They looked at one another, probably the first look of theirs that hadn’t been fueled by cockiness or bitterness in years. Maxie’s eyes suddenly darted to Archie’s chest, and Archie suddenly became aware once again that he was shirtless.
Embarrassed, both of them placed their focus back onto Lemon, who was now playing with one of the Frillish Maxie had seen swim by before. The same heavy, awkward silence from earlier had returned, only this time, Maxie was the one to break it.
‘Do you uhm-’ He looked at Archie’s reflection in the glass, he appeared relaxed, the most relaxed he had seen him in a long time.
‘- you ever wish you could go back?’
Archie hummed lightly to show he was still listening, and was just enamored by how this was the most lively Lemon had been since Maxie had gifted her to him for Valentines day years ago. It stung somewhere in his heart, because he knew how confused she would be once Maxie left in the morning.
He sighed heavily, looking down at the floor for a moment, Maxie waited silently in both fear and anticipation. Archie looked over to Maxie, and exhaled shakingly.
‘I don’t think I can, not anymore.’
Maxie didn’t speak for a moment before cocking his head back to the fish tank, a strand of hair falling from behind his ear as he did so.
‘Yeah, sure. Me too.’
Archie could tell he had upset him as he could see the faintest glint of a tear forming in his eyes as he watched Lemon dancing through the water. A sudden feeling of guilt washed over him, he stared as Maxie furiously wiped his hand across his eyes, further messing up that strand of hair that had fallen.
‘Hey, Max, your uh-’ Archie spoke, attempting to point out the hair, he moved slightly closer to the other man. Maxie stared silently as Archie reached his arm out, hesitating slightly, and tucked the loose strand of hair behind Maxie’s ear, only once he was done, he didn't move his hand away from his face, cupping Maxie’s cheek.
Neither of them spoke, the only sound filling the room being the faint chirps of Lemon, who had made her way up to the front of the glass. Archie rubbed his thumb against Maxie’s cheek, and then the two’s mouths suddenly melted into each other.
It was as if their lips hadn’t spent a day apart. The two kissed vigorously, hungrily, blindly leading one another back over to the couch, where they flopped their bodies down as one.
Maxie tasted horrible, like alcohol and vomit, Archie thought to himself, and yet it was intoxicating. Is this really the door he had been so adamant about keeping closed? How had he survived all these years without tasting Maxie’s mouth in his? Whatever guilt he was feeling before had been ramped up to 100, but he couldn’t care less at that moment. Maxie was driving him crazy, breathing against his lips, attempting to catch his breath, his arms hung by Archie’s neck as the two sucked each other's faces off like teenangers, their hearts beating in sync. Arceus, he hated him so much.
Maxie pulled himself off of Archie’s mouth and began planting kisses on his neck, running his fingers along his exposed chest, muttering sweet, sweet nothings to him, just the way he used to.
‘Arceus, I’ve missed you so much.’
And now that Archie was able to breathe properly, it began settling in his brain what exactly he was doing.
Clarity hit him like a train, and he pushed Maxie away from his neck with as much efficiency as his clouded mind and body could. Maxie looked back at Archie with a look of both horror and what appeared to still be a twinge of desire. Archie’s face was chalk white, his chest heaving up and down, and Maxie began to worry if he had overstepped.
‘A- Arch, I- I’m so-’
‘No.’ Archie butted in, standing up, turning away in shame. ‘I’m sorry. You’re drunk, you’re-’
He picked up a pile of blankets from the empty side of the sofa, tossing them into Maxie’s hands as he walked to the door.
‘Go to bed, we can talk in the morning.’ Archie ordered as he stood by the doorframe. Maxie sat in shock, staring up at him like a lost puppy, before speaking.
‘Okay, ‘night.’
‘G’night, Max.’ Archie replied, as he closed the door, and he was alone again.
Archie let his back rest on the door, as he took a moment to catch his breath. His head was still reeling in ecstasy, and he could still taste the faintest bit of alcohol on his mouth. What in Arceus’ name has he gotten himself into, he thought to himself.
He listened through the door for a while, he could hear Maxie sniffling and breathing heavily, as well as the soft chirping of Lemon, still excited at Maxie’s return. Archie knew that he was crying, but he also knew that if he went back onto the couch, there was a high chance he wouldn’t be able to leave.
Instead, he made a beeline back to his office, sat down at his desk, and started looking through the pile of still unfinished work at his side. He already knew that he wouldn’t be able to sleep, so why not just work for the rest of the night, it would at the very least distract him from what had just happened, he thought to himself.
He glanced at the time on his computer, 01:24. So much for spending Valentine's day alone.