#and that Maxie probably really warmed Archie up in some way

[goldengrecha]

Today I'm thinking about manga versions of Maxie and Archie, because it's something... I even dont have words for it. Like. Holy fucking shit.

In the beginning, of course, they're confront each other - that's the classic, they're rivals after all, standing for different things and all that things. They're different. They're opposites. They're still strongly exist in each other lives, because of their conflict.

But then

This happens. And this IS beginning of the end, because of course they're working together - and at the moment it looks like it is only for benefits for their goals, nothing else. They will destroy each other when they will get to finish.

They're fucking irritating(/pos), it almost feels like they're drawn to each other, in any scenario, their destiny is to meet, to exist in each other lives. None of them exist alone (and when one of them do exist alone, it means that something went terribly wrong).

AND THEN THINGS JUST GO EVEN WORSE (/pos)

This panel. I don't know where to start.

Do I need start with that they're realizing they work together perfectly? Do I start with that this making them thinking they needed to work together from the beginning? Do I start with that two men, who, up until this point, was fighting with each other and conflicting, hating each other, founded in each other the best partner they ever could have? Do I start with that they're probably the best persons in each other lives?

It is already very emotional (at least for me), but with how story goes on, they're connecting more and more, becoming even more emotionally fucked up.

AND THEN THERE IS EMERALD ARC???? CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT EMERALD ARC???????

There is so much going on in emerald arc I barely can find words for describing my emotions.

This is the fucking tragedy. Because, what do you mean, they're put in situation where is only one of them can leave alive for some more time? (Remember how I said that if only ONE if them exist it means that some shit is going to happen something going to go really terrible. It either them both exist or them both don't).

What do you mean Archie is literally killed Maxie, just for chance of living a little longer?

And this is tragedy, because Archie, in the end, loses again. And now, not only he does lose in literal sense - he didn't achieve his goal, after all. He loses everything he had - his team, his life, and most importantly, he loses his only friend. He is all alone now.

Ah yeah can we talk about

This?

It's just one phrase. It has so much in it.

Not only he calls Maxie friend, not only he confess that Maxie probably the only one person which Archie was thinking as a friend, but also like.

Consider this: this isn't oras archie yet. This version of archie is cold, closed and gloomy, genuinely intimidating person. He doesn't care about his team members, it is kind of okay for him to use them as tools (which, ironically, shows even in this interaction with Maxie: after all, Archie still killed him for a chance of living a bit longer. And Archie acknowledging that he betrayed Maxie. He betrayed his only one friend). He is a cold person, but it almost seems like Maxie managed to warm him up a bit, just a little bit. This is actually incredible and, again, endlessly emotional, and I still can't stress this enough. Holy fucking shit.

Just imagine Archie at this point. Imagine, because, the best person in his life always was his rival. His rival, and maybe, even friend.

And I told about this before, but can we talk about that in distorted world they became one? It's just so symbolic. Like, Archie and Maxie from beginning were opposites, they was supporting opposite things, their goals was completely opposite. But they can't choose only one of this, because everything around them is a combination of different, sometimes opposite things. Like even the land and water in Hoenn! Exactly this combination of land and water create Hoenn as we know it, and how they know it. And they, people, who choosed only one of these things, in the end, became the one themselves - isn't this ironic? Isn't this funny? Isn't it symbolic in some way? (I also fucking love how this fusion explain in some way why when oras hits, Maxie is more like original Archie, and Archie more like original Maxie. They had explored each other minds I'm sure of it)

And finally, ORAS, part that I love the most.

Not only they both was given chance of living again, but this is literally their peak. They're working together again - and by that I mean they're working perfectly together.

They even acknowledge it themselves:

And this is so good in contrast with Ruby and Sapphire arc - back then, they too, realized and started to think they're work perfectly together, but it still was mixed with some evil fucked up shit, but here? They're working together because they (ironically), have the same goal. And they're helping each other.

They're working together perfectly, this is so good for them. And no evil bullshit this time! It's actually best versions of them in some way - because they're working together, for sake both of humanity and pokemon. They working towards happiness and safety for everyone, not choosing and prioritizing only one of them.

And they're talking to each other as if they was old friends, partners, every one of their interactions shines with this somewhat warm feeling. This is so good for them. I would even dare to say that ORAS part was the happiest moments in their lives.

And.. Then end of ORAS hits.

And, again, as classic already, it's a small panel, but how much here is.

First of all, can I point that Archie died two times, and both times he was thinking of Maxie in some way?

And both times is some kind of emotional moment for Archie: first time, he calls Maxie friend (he doesn't call him by name, but. He obviously talking about him COME ON), and second time he ask Maxie, if he would want to work together again, if they will have chance to do so. I just love seeing this progression, how Maxie became more and more dear person for Archie as time goes on, how he became more attached to him. And Maxie does too!

It is such an incredible moment filled with so much emotions, with so much sense. I love how Archie doesn't even say his question fully, but Maxie still understands him. Of course he does, because, I'm sure, even if Archie didn't ask this, Maxie still would think of it. I'm sure if none of them said this, they still would understand this wish to work together again that they both have. At this point, they are incredibly connected together, and they have only each other.

I also love this moment, because when Archie died first time, he was told that, if he will continue like this, he will end up all alone. And Archie agrees to that: he answer in the way that he is already accepted that he is alone now, and he doesn't even have Maxie by his side (I still can't get over that he really highlighted him in this speech holy fucking shit). BUT then, when he appears next time, he appears as ORAS self, and his ORAS self is very different from what he was, not only as a person, but his motivation is different, too.

He changed in some way. And he ISN'T alone, because now, Maxie is by his side again. And I can't stop thinking about how happy it probably made Archie.

And even dying, he is calm, because he isn't alone. He have Maxie by his side. His only friend.

[ribbononline]

team hcs lets go! lets go!

maxie;

Numel/Camerupt (Sandstone) ; Caught when having temporarily ran away from home as a child, the pokemon he's had the longest. She's very chill and just vibing most of the time- she loves to cuddle and she’s well behaved, Due to having been with Maxie all his childhood, she’s seen a lot of the… less then pleasant stuff, and will still fly into a panic if she ever sees anyone attempting to harm him physically. She’s very protective.

Poochyena/Mightyena (Granite) ; His parents owned a Houndoom and a Mightyena, who had two Poochyena pups together. When Maxie ran off in highschool he took them both with him. Granite's very lively, and out of the whole team has the most trouble fighting against Archie's team. She just doesn't get what happened between them. She listens well however, she just…. doesn’t get why she can’t hang out with her sister anymore.

Poochyena/Mightyena (Obsidian) ; The other Poochyena pup Maxie took from home, though she ended up as a part of Archie's team somewhere in highschool.

Zubat/Golbat/Crobat (Mercury) ; Obtained in Rocket, one of the Pokémon issued to almost all members. Mercury was a recent catch of the team, so while he was a little freaked out and untrusting, Maxie ended up winning him over fairly easily with some treats. He loves to sit on Maxie's head and/or wrap his wings around him. It doesn't make seeing easier but Maxie has never managed to get him to stop.

Weezing (Chalcantite) ; Obtained in college, from an old teacher Maxie got along with well enough. She was retiring, and wanted her Pokémon to be able to travel a while longer. So, Maxie took the Weezing over! Originally he'd never gotten a nickname- and even though Maxie technically gave him one, it's kind of a 50/50 chance if he remembers that thats his name and responds to it. His original owner died somewhere in the Rocket years. Chalcantite is fairly slow, but very enthusiastic. He's doing his best. Post-ORAS Maxie let's him retire to a Pokémon daycare since he's already getting old- but he still gets very excited whenever Maxie visits. He's living out his last days being spoiled by the employees of the daycare.

Gligar (Novaculite) ; Obtained post-ORAS. Once Maxie and Archie moved in together, they kept finding items around the house missing, and someone kept going trough their trash nightly. Eventually Maxie (literally) caught the culprit. He originally meant to release it, but Archie convinced him to try training it- Gligars don't normally live in Hoenn, so it probably got here by accident somehow and didn't know how to adapt to the environment, leading to the thefts. Training it would help it! Also it's a ground type come on Maxie you know you want another cute ground type let it join, It worked. A spoiled little thing that loves to constantly be held and cuddled and will demand attention if it's not given. Novaculite- or Nova, as literally everyone including Maxie as this point calls him- rarely joins battles, it doesn’t really enjoy them- but it likes to just hang around and watch, eating whatever treats it can get.

Trapinch/Vibrava/Flygon (Mica) ; Obtained post-ORAS, about a year after Nova. Originally found as a trapinch when Maxie was trying to research in the desert of route 111, apparently in the area this Trapinch called his territory. After days of fighting with the thing, eventually it just... didn't show up one day when Maxie got into the space it normally protected. Kind of curious (and slightly concerned) Maxie ended up looking around for it, finding it stuck under some collapsed desert ruin fragments it couldn't get out from again. Taking pity on the Trapinch he helped it out, and after that it started following him around. After a week or two when research was done, Maxie ended up taking it home, and that was that. Very brash and competitive, Mica loves to fight- and also loves to be praised afterwards for it. Having only recently evolved into it's final form, it's still not used to it's larger body and keeps accidentally breaking furniture.

Volcarona (Tephra) ; Obtained post-ORAS, the most recent addition to the team. Caught when on a vacation in Unova with Archie- Maxie kind of fell in love with the look of the Pokémon, and decided to take her home. Archie nearly got a heart attack when he saw Maxie with it. Tephra is very regal, very large, and (like most of Maxie's pokemon) very spoiled and pampered. She does not tolerate a no for an answer- though she never causes a fuss. If she disagrees with you she will just burn her path to whatever she wanted- very calmly, and very regally. She only listens to Maxie.

She's the one Pokémon on Maxie's team Archie can not figure out how to win over. She just... hovers there. Will she burn you? Will she just let you pass? You won't know until you walk past her. For your sake, have some treats on hand to bribe her.

archie;

Carvanha/Sharpedo (Dusk) ; Caught as a child with the help of his mom and one of his older siblings. They found it without the rest of it's school, and Archie was adamant he wanted it as his Pokémon, so they helped him catch it. Stubborn and kind of aggressive, it took forever to tame him- As a child Archie was just constantly covered in bites from it. He never gave up or was even discouraged though- this was his Pokémon!! He loved it!! Over time the Pokémon finally started feeling safe around him, and they got closer until it evolved. As a Sharpedo he honestly mellowed out a lot. It's very easygoing, and great with kids. It loves to be pet and cuddled- which Archie always indulges, despite the fact that Dusk very much has the rough skin ability.

Grimer/Muk (Pizza) ; Found as a child in a nearby trash dump- the Grimer was actually sitting in an empty pizza box. Being like 10 and thinking he was so smart it thus got named Pizza. Pizza's also pretty chill, and loves to eat and sleep. That said, when it is awake, it's very good at sneaking up on people. Maxie doesn't get how a literal goop of toxic waste can do that but Pizza is a toxic waste goop of many talents.

Poochyena/Mightyena (Granite) ; Obtained from Maxie in high school. Like her sister, she's very energetic and lively. Granite loves to run, and is pretty much always doing something. She listens very well though, and she’s mostly just a good girl. She’s a bit smaller then her sister. Much like her sister, she has the hardest time fighting Maxie's team in battle. She just doesn't get why they must fight <:[

Zubat/Golbat/Crobat (Fangs) ; Obtained in Rocket, one of the Pokémon issued to almost all members. The zubat had been caught a while ago, and had been passed from grunt to grunt- with some... not great owners inbetween. When Archie got him, the thing was incredibly skittish and aggressive with massive trust issues for humans. It took Archie forever to even get it to stop trying to bite him whenever it was out of it's pokeball, but he never gave up on the tiny Pokémon. Eventually managing to win it's trust, Fangs still has a lot of trust issues towards other humans. It tolerates Maxie, Shelly and Matt, but prefers not to be touched by anyone but Archie. Still, it loves him very much- and it's loved a lot in return. Fangs has the best life he can now, Archie always does his best to make him feel comfortable no matter the situation they're in. He also turned out to be a very strong fighter, despite being fairly weak (mainly due to mistreatment) as a zubat.

Mantyke/Mantine (Tidal) ; Caught just before somewhere in Rocket years. He met her on one of his walks along the beach- thinking over his life’s mistakes-with one of her fin being caught up in net. After helping her out she turned out very playful and he definitely could use something nice- besides, because of her injury she seemed to have lost her school and needed the company. So he ended up catching her! Once she evolved (somewhere in Aqua) she got trained to help rescue people- mainly in case a grunt ever got stuck in a rip current or something. As such , while still playful, she knows to be careful gentle and caring when it comes down to it! She's a good girl. While Maxie knew of her in Rocket he never saw her much, and she had the hardest time warming up to him after the teams reunited again. She doesn’t battle often. Archie takes her along sometimes when battling for fun or if he truly thinks he needs her- but usually he lets her do her thing. As such, she was not present in the deep sea cavern fight.

Castform (Missy) ; Obtained post-ORAS. A little pest who wants to get her way. The reunited team tried catching her to help study and watch out for lingering weather effects Kyogre and Groudon might've caused, but failed each time. Instead she got very good at ruining the equipment near the base or that was brought out on field missions. Eventually Archie literally made a deal with her to Stop Doing That in exchange for pokepuffs. It worked! She stuck around, and became a part of the team. She's no good at fighting and never battles, but she's very good at demanding attention. Plus, she ended up helping the team out with the research on lingering weather effects after all, so she deserves some extra treats for her hard work, she thinks. Archie has no idea how to deal with her, but she’s happy and helping out, so… he supposes he can deal with it.

Archie also has a bunch of Pokémon that are by no means actually his- they’re wild Pokémon that he’s helped along the way, and remember and recognise him. A lot will hang out with him, some follow him around, and a select few will happily temporarily join his team if he asks. The most notable ones are;

A Quagsire named Mr. Goop. She was found sickly from having been caught in an oil spill. After having been rescued and cared for by Aqua, she was mistaken for male for the longest time due to her large backfin. Once Archie found out she just had a larger fin then normal for females of the species but what still very much a girl, she’d already gotten used to the name of Mr. Goop, so Mr. Goop she stayed.

A Sealeo named Tundra. Found as a spheal without a group and living in waters to warm for it, Archie helped it migrate to a better environment. However, the thing never seemed to want to join another spheal pack, and as such just ended up traveling around with Archie for a long time. It was always however very interested in battling, and evolved soon enough- ending up strong enough to survive on it’s own fine. Tundra joins Archie’s team most often whenever he needs an extra fighter- Tundra loves the battles, and it loves the treats. Still, it appreciates being able to return to the wild seas again in the end.

A Lanturn named Siren. Found with her lightstem damaged, Aqua helped repair parts of it with prosthetics. Once she could hunt on her own again, she was released back to the seas, but still visits the base every few months and hangs around there for a couple of weeks.

[lostonehero]

Becoming less human

It was a week after the near end of the world by two men who had good intentions but no common sense. The teams Aqua and Magma merged and started on trying to help without the use of extreme measures. Both teams thankfully were pardoned and nobody died, but the orbs the orbs were absorbed into both leaders flesh, and as far as anyone knows nothing came of it except the two leaders getting together.

Maxie gave a frustrated sigh as he tried to put his shoe on again, for some reason it felt too small. He was 35 he was well past growing stuck at 5ft 5in for the rest of his life. He never complained though his height never defined him, and he could beat Archie in a fist fight no problem, growing up in a orphanage where everyone hated would make someone tough. Granted Archie would never admit to loosing, well it wasn't like anyone would belive Maxie either to the world he was a weak skinny nerd. He wore the long sleeves and stocking to cover up scars from past abuse he didn't want to show the world.

"Leader Maxie? I mean Maxie." Tabitha stutters out.

Maxie sighs "Archie isn't in here Tabitha." He heard a sigh of relief as his former admin walked in. "And I told you you didn't have to stay, you can get a better job and not be stuck with the crazy man who almost ended the world." He cursed under his breath again and tossed his shoes to the side.

"Le- Maxie I want to help with your new vision, and even if it involves Aqua what you have drawn out is pretty amazing sir...." he trails off as he watches Maxie. "Sir are you alright."

Maxie sighs. "I think I must of hurt my feet and they are swollen my shoes seem too tight." His feet look perfectly fine except for his nails that look like they are turning black.

"Oh I see do you want me to call for a doctor?"

"No Tabitha I'm fine I'll just steal Archie's shoes he left here." Maxie sighs seeing Tabitha scowl at the former Aqua leader. "I don't need you judging my love life Tabitha."

Tabitha huffs. "You can do better sir."

"Tabitha I appreciate the sentiment but I'm pretty hated right now."

"W-well you are still liked."

"I know you have feelings for Matt, and besides I'm 10 years older then you and Courtney so my answer would still be no."

Tabitha tries to hide his red face, Maxie knew him too well at this point. "R-Right sir uh today is your day off I came to remind you no work."

Maxie curses under his breath Tabitha knew him well as well. "Right very well then I think I'll visit Archie."

Tabitha sighs but didn't argue he knew Maxie wouldn't overwork himself around that pirate.

.......

"If you keep staring at your hands I will smack the back of your head Archie." Shelly huffed

Archie was in casual clothes and nit his wet suit today. He felt naked without it on, but fir some reason his gloves couldn't go all the way down, and it seemed as if the webbing on his fingers had gotten deeper and his nails longer. He kept thinking back to the blue orb absorbing into his skin filing his blood with ice and the legendary beast staring at him seemingly to say "you survived you'll be rewarded" he really didn't know why that was in his head. He even asked Maxie about it and he said the same thing when in regards to his encounter.

"Archibald you're boyfriend is here." Shelly sneered rolling her eyes.

Archie sighs and gives a look to Shelly and she just raises her hands and left. Archie knew Shelly hated Maxie, and he knew Shelly didn't approve but he made him happy.

"Archie? Are you alright." Maxie asks as he plops down into a chair wearing longs sleeves and pants.

Archie frowns he knew the real reason why Maxie covered up and hell it had been only a short time but he wish he could see more of him more often then the bedroom. He shook his head. "I don't know I couldn't put on my gloves today."

Maxie leans back. "Funny I couldn't put on my shoes today I had to wear yours, well the pair you forgot to get when Courtney chased you put of my bedroom."

Archie grimaced at the memory but looked confused. "Maxie I'm like three sizes bigger then you how have you not tripped?"

"They fit perfectly." Macie says calmly but his shaking hands gave him away. "Is this the reward." He whispered fear lacing his tone.

Archie has never seen Maxie truly scared, sure he had startled him but the man was ready to punch him in the face rather then run away. His nerves were starting to eat away at his confidence. "I-i don't know Max. Are we taking there place?"

Maxie shivers. "I never wanted that, I don't think I could stand to loose you now." He frowns. "Could I stay with you tonight...." he trails off.

Archie nods frowning, Maxie never asked he always just stayed and was so dominate in his ways. He decided he didn't like seeing Maxie scared. "Have you gone back to..." he didn't finish his sentence when Maxie looked him in the eye.

"Yes once, it was for closure to make sure they were gone...." he stopped seemingly recalling something. "I heard something though."

"What?"

"Uh I think you've been blessed by the gods your body will change to accept it.... I thought I was just hearing things." He looked down biting his lip.

Archie sighs and looks at Maxie. "I don't want to talk about this anymore..."

"Neither do I." Maxie gets up and offers Archie his hand. "Shall we get some ice cream and try to forget with bad movies."

Archie smiled softly nodding getting up. "Aye that sounds great."

.....3 months later.....

Maxie tried to wrestle Archie's shoes onto his feet but he had little to no luck, it's been months and he was comfortable wearing them this was like being a teenager in a growthspurt all over. "Fuck this!" he threw the shoes across the room and finally noticed his pants were short that doused his frustration with fear.

Archie rushed in right out of the shower his towel haphazardly around his waist. "Maxie are you alright."

Maxie in a quiet voice. "My pants are too short and slightly tight."

Archie furrows his brow and actually looks down and to his astonishment Maxie was right. "I know you've gained weight Maxie, but uh you gained height."

Maxie sighs. "I thought it was I eating more I gained weight, and I didn't mind that but.... but " he stops and takes a deep breath. "Archie we never did stop did we?"

"My legs aren't fusing if that's what your asking." Archie tried to joke but he was starting to get scared too.

Maxie sat down on the bed. "I need to get new clothes." He sighs laying down. "We probably should tell Steven."

Archie frowns and moves to lay down next to him. "Maybe we should start with our former admins, or current ones they really never stopped doing their jobs."

"I don't know which one would be worse." Maxie chuckles covering his face. "Tabithia and Courtney will be the worse mother hens."

"You think that's bad Matt once carried me to bed when I had the sniffles." Archie gives a small laugh.

"When did our lives get so messed up? Wait don't answer that I know why." Maxie huffs looking at Archie.

Archie couldn't hold it in and started to laugh.

Maxie threw a pillow at him.

..... 6 months later......

Archie frowns looking at the large blanket Matt bought for him and Maxie. "Is this really necessary? Maxie only grew 6inches."

"Bro you need to think long term, you're changing too." Matt puffs out his chest. "Even if you become another kyoger I want to make sure you're warm."

Archie sighs scratching his beard. "I don't think that's what I'm becoming Matt, but uh thanks." Matt was like his brother, he was just a tad over protective.

Matt shakes his head. "No matter what happens Archie I will be by your side no matter what."

Archie smiles softly. "Thanks Matt, but uh I think we are good on blankets, Maxie is like a furnace..."

"Does he have a fever, I know I was rude and mean when you started dating but he really loves you can I help?" Matt rattles off

Archie chuckles. "No Bro like how my body temperature lowered Maxie's went up."

"Ohhh ok so you guys cancel each other out just like them. Maybe they are dating too."

Archie covers his face with his hands trying to get that image put of his head as Matt rattles on about the many plans he has to help.

.....4 months later.....

"This is insulting at this point." Archie huffs laying on his stomach.

Maxie matching Archie's position. "I didn't want a tail either but here we are. It's not even fully formed yet and it's so sensitive." He sighs. "I honestly thought you would be upset because I'm taller then you now."

"Not gonna lie Max that kinds of turns me on." Archie chuckles hearing Maxie scoff.

"We aren't even entirely human anymore and you are thinking about bedroom activities." He tries and fails to look offended. "I can't say it hasn't crossed my mind Archie but I want to wait till we are done changing."

"Agreed, so how are your feet doing I know they were killing you." Archie hums trying to keep conversation to distract from the pain.

Maxie looks away. "Scales and bone spur on my heel...they feel a lot better but I'm worried I might hurt you while we sleep."

Archie has wide eyes. "Matching your claws."

Maxie looks back raising his brow. "Seriously Archie? What about your neck?"

"Gills got matching ones on my waist as well, I don't need my wetsuit anymore." He smiles.

Maxie smiles "swimming with Bruce is in your future right." He grimaced as a soft crack is heard. "F-fun with your p-pokemon."

Archie held onto Maxie's hand. "Its ok you don't need to be tough around me I love you."

Maxie held on tightly to Archie's hand. "I love you too." It was the first time they exchanged those words.

....1 month later....

Archie was chasing down Maxie with a bucket of soapy water. "Maxie I swear to arceus that you need to stop you're shedding let me help."

"Fuck off Archie, and leave that fucking hell brush in the trash." Maxie growls a red glowed from his eyes.

"Maxie it's just a brush stop being a baby." Archie tries to tackle him but misses. "I swear I will call Courtney and Tabitha."

"You wouldn't dare." Maxie hisses.

"I would you human lizard just get in the medicated bath." Archie crosses his arms.

Maxie grumbles and walks back to the large bath with bubbles and a medical oder he hated. He got in crossing his arms. "Only because I don't want them to see me naked again."

Archie sighs and begins to scrub softly at Maxie's scales helping them shed. "Look I don't like this either but I refuse to be covered in your shed again. I don't care if we are still changing you will take a bath when you shed."

Maxie scowls. "You don't have to baby me Archie. You know why I don't like baths."

Archie pauses. "I know Max, but you'll feel better we both know that. I'm sorry but I don't want the shower spray to hurt you like last time when you first shed."

Maxie looks away and nods. "I know I know, could you.... maybe uh come in with me?"

Archie chuckles and plops into the bath with Maxie splashing him.

Maxie spits out the soapy water at Archie. "You know what I changed my mind get out."

Archie laughs harder. "Love you too Maxie."

......1 year later....

Maxie was sitting at his desk Archie was late to their meeting, Tabitha and Courtney were both waiting along with Shelly and Matt. It was an uncomfortable silence. Maxie tapped his claw against the wood not realizing he was creating a small hole. "He's the one who called the damn meeting why is he running late."

Tabitha sighs knowing Maxie's temper was high by the smell of burning coming from his tail that slapped the floor in annoyance. "Maxie he probably forgot something."

"We share a home Tabitha he seemed perfectly put together." Maxie glares at Matt who looked guilty.

Matt Maxie knew was awful at keeping secrets and a glare from Maxie was enough to set him off. "ARCHIE IS GOING TO PROPOSE." Matt yells breaking all tension. "I promised I wouldn't tell but I just can't. He is late because the ring is taking longer to make then he realized." He covers his face in shame.

Shelly curses. "Fucking hell Matt he told us in confidence."

"I know I know but Maxie looks so upset." Matt whimpers

Shelly groans and leans back.

Courtney was laughing softly a rare sound.

Tabitha gave a look to Matt saying you're on the couch tonight.

Maxie slams his hands on the table startling everyone. "That fucking bastard" he gets up quickly. "I already bought a fucking ring."

The four stared at Maxie connecting the dots and everyone realized that maybe that their collective bosses were both actually so deeply in love they had the same idea.

At that moment Archie walked in hearing Maxie yell. "You bought a ring?"

"Of course I did you dumb pirate I love you." Maxie huffs. "I was waiting for the full moon because you like the moon's reflection on the water."

Archie looks like he was about to cry. "Maxie I love you so much woukd you marry me?"

Maxie threw his own black box at Archie. "Make an educated guess you college graduate."

Archie burst out laughing and runs to tackle Maxie into a hug. "Damn right Maxie I will marry you."

"And I will marry you Archie." Maxie smiles

[hardenshippingheadcanons]

I have a hardenshipping au idea! What if Maxie was an independent, well known fashion designer in the 70's, and Archie was starting out his career as a model; looking for ways to gain fame and attention. Eventually, (somehow) Maxie finally meets Archie after various interviews and tryouts of his new male clothing line on other male models, until he settles on Archie, seeing his potential. After some time they get to know each other, they start to grow closer. Please and thank you so much!!

Okay so I may have gone a bit too far because this thing is almost 9000 words long, which is like, four times my average O_O

Anyways, I tried my best, but I don’t know much about fashion or the 70s, so I added some homophobic parents and buses… lots of buses for some reason. Also at some point I forgot Hoenn was a tropical region and I made it snow…. I have no idea how I forgot that.

I hope this is at least slightly what you wanted

“No no no! They’re all wrong!”

Tabitha sighed. They had been over this four times already, and yet Maxie continued to be difficult. “You’ve got to pick one, sir. The show is in a few months and you can’t start making the outfits until you have a model.”

“None of these men work, Tabitha!” Maxie yelled, swiping a bunch of notes and fabric off of one of the work desks in their small studio to underline his point. “They all look too… I don’t know! But they’re not what I want!”

Tabitha sighed again and rubbed his eyes. He felt a headache coming on. “Maxie, please.”

“No. Absolutely not,” Maxie continued. “We should hold auditions, that’s what we should do. Forget about these ‘professionals’, get some new people!”

That… actually wasn’t that bad of an idea, Tabitha thought. Some random person would probably be much cheaper than professional models. But they would have to be trained….

“Tabitha, you go sort that out. We can hold the audition next Saturday, after I’m done the last outfit for Courtney.”

And just like that Maxie was back at his desk furiously scribbling away in his sketchbook. Tabitha knew that Maxie could do great things and would be a huge person in the fashion industry some day, but Arceus, whoever got stuck working with him would have their work cut out for them.

—————

Maxie was waiting at the bus stop, nervously looking up at the sky and shifting his weight in agitation. It looked like it would start raining any minute, and he was holding months worth of notes. If the bus didn’t get here soon….

Maxie felt a presence behind him and glanced over his shoulder. Not many people used this buss stop.

Behind his was a dark skinned man with a goofy smile on his face. They made eye contact, and Maxie immediately turned away.

‘Please don’t take that as an invitation to talk to me, I don’t want to talk to a stranger right now….’

“Hey, what’s your name?”

Well, there goes that hope.

The man had stepped beside him so they could talk, and Maxie realized that the man was pretty tall.

“Who are you?” Maxie asked.

“Ohhh, secretive, huh? I like that. I’m Archie. What’s with all the paper?”

Maxie glanced up at the sky again, then down the street where the bus should be coming already. Nothing.

“It’s work,” Maxie stated. Where was that bus?

“What do you do?” Archie leaned over to try to get a look, but Maxie pulled his work closer towards himself. He hated letting people see his work before it was released.

“Oh hey, the bus!”

That got Maxie’s attention. Coming down the street was the city bus. Which was perfect timing, because Maxie felt the first drop of rain fall on his hand.

Archie was waving at the bus, as though the bus driver didn’t see them. Had this man never used a bus before? Maxie thought in irritation. He had known this man for two minutes, and already he was loosing patience. Maxie wasn’t the most patient person in the world, but even he normally lasted a bit longer than that.

When the bus stopped, Maxie got in first and chose a seat near the back. As usual, the bus was practically empty. There was an old lady at the front, a drunk, passed out man in the middle, a student between them…. and Archie, who was walking straight to the back, towards Maxie. Great….

Archie sat in the row opposite of Maxie, with his legs in the aisle. “So, what do you do for work?”

The bus took off.

“I’m a designer,” Maxie said, pulling his notes close again. Why was this man so determined?

“Cool! What do you design?”

Maxie sighed irritably. He hated talking to strangers, he hated telling people about his job, and he absolutely hated people who wouldn’t leave him alone!

“Woah, you look angry,” Archie said. Maxie glared at him. “Do you not like your job or something?”

“Wha- how could you - No! No I absolutely do NOT hate my job! I absolutely LOVE my job, and I work my butt off every day just to stay relevant! How dare you assume-“

“Woah woah, calm down. I didn’t mean to make you upset, jeez,” Archie said, but he was holding back a laugh behind that big, stupid smile, and that just made Maxie angrier.

“Oh, hey, this is my stop,” Archie said as the bus slowed down.

Maxie sat back and huffed. In just a few minutes this man has made him furious. That was a new record. There was something about him that was just so infuriating.

Archie got to the front of the bus and stoped to look back. “Bye, Red!” He called, giving Maxie a huge wave. Maxie groaned and smacked his head against the seat in front of him as Archie left.

Well, at least he’d never have to see that man again. That thought calmed him down.

————

“Well, thank you for coming. We’ll contact you soon if you get the position,” Tabitha said with a warm smile. The man that had just auditioned smiled and thanked them before leaving.

“He was nice,” Tabitha stated as he attached the photo of the man to their notes.

“Not what I’m looking for,” Maxie replied. He was barely taking any notes at this point. He knew what he wanted, and none of these people were that.

“Maxie, you’ve got to pick someone,” Tabitha said. “You can’t  just wait for the perfect guy to come walking in. You have to get this line finished in a few months!”

“I know, Tabitha!” Maxie snapped. It wasn’t his fault that all these people had the same body type. They were all too… average. Definitely not the big, buff, hero type that Maxie needed for this line. He really should have looked for a model earlier….

“Okay, Maxie, look. There are six more guys out there waiting to audition. You’ve got to pick either one of the ones we see today, or one of the ones that sent in their applications. Just… try to have an open mind, okay?”

“I liked the last guy,” Courtney said. Maxie had almost forgotten that she was in the room. She was sat in a corner, wearing one of the outfits that Maxie had made for this line. The male model had to complement her, after all. It didn’t matter how perfect he was if he didn’t look good beside her.

Maxie sighed. “Let the next guy in.” He started doodling in the notebook that Tabitha had given him to take notes on the models. Was it even worth seeing the next few? He should just pick one and get it over with. Maybe he could redesign some of the outfits to work.

The door opened, and Maxie heard Tabitha talking to the next model. The man laughed at something Tabitha said, and Maxie looked up, recognizing the voice.

“Hey, Red! I didn’t know you worked here!”

It was Archie.

Maxie groaned and smacked his head against the table. He didn’t even bother looking back up. Maybe if he just stayed like this the universe would take pity on him and just end it all.

Of all the people….

“Oh, you know each other?” Tabitha asked.

“No!”

“Yeah, we took the same bus yesterday. What are the odds!”

Maxie shifted his head to glare at Tabitha, who had a funny grin on his face. Maxie supposed that he had put Tabitha through some rough times these past few days, so seeing Maxie suffer a bit was enjoyable to him.

“So if you would just come this way, we’ll take a photo and some information to attach to our notes,” Tabitha said, motioning towards the camera.

Maxie finally decided to sit up straight and take a stretch. His shoulders hurt, his legs were asleep, and his tea was cold. Could this day get any worse?

He heard Tabitha and Archie chatting, and decided to turn towards Courtney. “Would you mind getting me some tea, Courtney?” Maxie asked.

“Sure,” Courtney said, getting up and fluffing her dress out a little. “Do you guys want anything?” Courtney called.

“Could I get a refill, please?” Tabitha asked.

“Ohh, can I have a coffee? I was waiting out in that room for like, an hour. I could really use one,” Archie said, shooting Courtney a huge smile.

Maxie rolled his eyes, but caught the blush on her cheeks before she left.

“Maxie will give you a form to fill out while I print this picture,” Tabitha said.

“Oh, so you’re ‘Maxie’ then?” Archie asked as he sauntered over to the desk. “Well, nice to officially meet you, Maxie. I’m Archie, as you know.”

Maxie rolled his eyes and passed the form over. “You’ve got an awful lot of confidence,” Maxie pointed out. “It almost comes off as arrogant.”

Archie laughed, brushing off the insult. “You should always be confident in what you do! Even if you’re not the best, if you give it your all you’ve got nothing to be ashamed of. And that’s how I like to live!”

That was actually good advice, but coming from Archie it just made Maxie more irritated. How much longer until this guy was gone? He’s been doing these auditions all day, he should know how long they take. But it was like Archie managed to sweep all his metaphorical papers off of the desk that is Maxie’s mind when he’s around.

“There, all done,” Archie said with a smile as he passed the form back to Maxie. He gave it a quick look to make sure nothing was missing before he put it back down.

“Great, thank you.”

“So, uh… now what?” Archie asked. Was there a bit of indecisiveness in there?

“Have you never auditioned before?” Maxie asked, teasing him. Of course they would tell him what to do, but if he could spend a few minutes making Archie feel like he should already be doing something, well… that would make today far more enjoyable.

“Not for a model, no. I’m an actor,” Archie admitted.

“Actor?” Maxie asked. Well, he did seem like a ‘theatre kid’, to be honest.

“Why are you applying to be a model, then?”

“Oh, you know,” Archie waved his hand around. Maxie did not know, but before he could cut in with the sarcastic remark Archie continued. “There ain’t much auditions for actors after the contest hall burnt down last month, so a guy had so make do. Besides, this sounded like fun, and it would be something cool to put on my resume.”

Maxie frowned. “You do know that this job would be a several month contract. You couldn’t just quit if a better opportunity came around.”

“Of course not,” Archie looked offended. “When I commit to something, I commit. I don’t care what it is.”

“Okay, we’re all ready, Archie,” Tabitha said as Courtney walked in and handed everyone their drinks.

“Oh, thank you,” Archie said with a small bow to her. “It’s absolutely perfect!”

Maxie rolled his eyes, but Courtney gave a cute giggle, which was shocking for the normally stoic girl.

“Great, let’s begin,” Tabitha announced with a clap of his hands.

————

“Thank you, Archie. We will contact you in a few days if you get the part,” Tabitha said.

“Thanks! Either was, this was pretty fun,” Archie said, giving Courtney an overdramatic kiss on the hand.

“Urgh,” Maxie said as he tossed his notes towards Tabitha.

“What do you mean?” Tabitha whispered to him. “He’s exactly what you wanted, isn’t he!?”

“An arrogant, overdramatic idiot?” Maxie whispered back. “Why would I ever want that?”

Tabitha rubbed at his eyes and sighed. “Who cares about his personality, it’s his body that’s important. Look at him!”

Maxie felt his face flush but quickly regained composer. He had completely forgotten what he was supposed to be looking for.

Archie was giving his goodbyes to Courtney. He was much taller than her, which was a must. Dark skinned, muscular…

Maxie felt his heart drop as he realized Tabitha was right. Archie was perfect. ‘For this modelling job!’ Maxie quickly corrected himself. Perfect for this job.

Perfect, and somehow knew how to push all of Maxie’s buttons. He honestly wasn’t sure that they could make it through the next few months if they hired him though. One of them was sure to kill the other. Most likely Maxie killing Archie.

But no one else had come close to the look that Maxie needed.

“There are still five more, right? Let’s get through them before we make any decisions.”

Maxie tried really hard to find positives in the rest of the guys, but none of them held a candle to Archie.

Maxie groaned and pushed his fingers through his hair when the last man left.

“So?” Tabitha asked.

Maxie sighed and closed his eyes. This was a huge mistake.

“Archie it is, then,” Tabitha said.

————

“What’s this do?”

“I said don’t move!”

“Sorry,”

Maxie sighed and readjusted his glasses. It’s been less than a day, and Archie had somehow made him angry enough to go out for two smoke breaks. Which was saying something, since he was trying to quit and was down to one a week before today.

This man would literally be the death of him.

“Is it that hard to stand still?” Maxie asked. “Is that not something you have to do in your plays?”

“It’s different in plays,” Archie countered as he got back into position and Maxie started measuring again. Archie was a bit nervous of all the pins Maxie had shoved in his mouth, but didn’t say anything about them, instead going with “I’m not me in those plays. But I’m me here, so yeah. Pretty hard to stay still.”

“Then don’t be you,” Maxie said with surprising clarity despite having a dozen or so pins held between his teeth. “Hold this.”

Archie grabbed it and awkwardly held the fabric in the exact spot it was when it was handed to him. He had really only known Maxie a day, but he could tell how passionate he was about this fashion stuff, so he didn’t want to do anything to mess it up. “Oh, come on, you like me,” Archie teased.

“I really don’t,” Maxie countered, pinning some fabric behind Archie’s back. “Pass that to me.”

Archie passed him the fabric. “What are you doing?”

“My job,” Maxie replied. “Which is much easier to do in silence, I might add.”

“That’s no fun!” Archie shot back. “Time goes by much faster when you’re having a conversation!”

“Well, lucky for me I’m short on time, and therefore if your hypothesis is true, we should remain silent,” Maxie said, reaching toward his desk to write down some notes.

“Jeez man. You sound like a scientist when you talk like that,” Archie said.

“Yes, well, I was originally going to be a geologist,” Maxie said as he pulled some fabric tighter and pinned it at Archie’s side.

“Really? What made you switch?” Archie asked. At least they were getting somewhere. It would suck to spend months with a guy who doesn’t want to talk to you.

“My family wanted me to be a geologist. I wanted to be a fashion designer,” Maxie said. We was back to Archie’s front, eyes quickly shifting all over as he calculated where to put the next pin.

“Yeah, it sucks when your family pressures you,” Archie agreed.

Maxie looked up at him for a split second before going back to work. “What were you supposed to be?”

“My whole family are sailors,” Archie said. That was somewhat surprising, and yet Maxie could absolutely see Archie on a dock pulling a boat in. “We own a small shipping company, and I was supposed to take over the family boat. It’s the biggest one we have, and it’s been passed down for generations.”
“How long does a boat usually last?” Maxie asked. He couldn’t imagine that a wooden vessel constantly sitting in water could last for generations.

“We fix things as they break, so as long as you do that they last a long time,” Archie said. He stretched his arm up as Maxie tapped it and pointed up. A pin connected fabric under his arm, then Maxie allowed him to put it down again.

“If you keep fixing it, though, is it the same ship in the end?” Maxie asked as he went to get more pins.

“What do ya mean?” Archie asked.

Maxie grabbed a new roll of fabric and some scissors, and shuffled back toward Archie. “Like, if I were to replace the handle of my broom, and a few years later I replace the brush part of my broom, is it the same broom? Because all the pieces have been swapped, so would it not technically be a different broom?”

“Huh,” Archie said. “Never thought of that.”

————

“Achuuuuu!”

“Could you stop!?”

“Sorry?” Archie sniffed.

“Honestly, what kind of idiot goes ice skating on a lake this time of year,” Maxie said as he drew on the fabric where he would cut. Sometimes he would just cut as he went, but not when any second could result in a sneeze.

“When I was a kid the rivers were always frozen through at this time! We used to play hockey after school every day!” Archie complained. He sniffed again. He looked absolutely miserable.

“Yes, well, you’re not a kid anymore. And it’s been an exceptionally warm autumn. You should have known.”

Archie coughed, and Maxie dropped the fabric and walked off in exasperation. “This is ridiculous. Why did you even come in today?”

“You said I can’t miss a day unless someone was literally dying,” Archie pointed out. “And that person had to be me.”

Maxie leaned against a pile of fabric and held his head in his hands. “We can’t get any work done like this,” He stated as Archie began a coughing fit.

This one was longer than usual, so Maxie decided to bring him his coffee and started removing the half done outfit. “I’m fine, really. Just need a drink and I’ll be fine,” Archie tried to convince himself.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Archie. You’re taking a break,” Maxie finished removing the outfit and pushed him lightly towards the sofa. Maxie had used it to sleep overnight in his studio many nights, so it was one of the most comfortable ones he could afford at the time.

Archie sank into it with a content sigh and sipped his coffee. “I could really go for a nap,” he said, shifting himself so he was lying down. “Wake me when you’re ready to go again.”

Before Maxie could even reply, he was asleep, mouth open and gasping for breath as his nose was blocked. Maxie sighed and got the spare blanket he kept in the closet, and threw it on Archie. He only ever wore boxers and a tank top during work, and he didn’t even bother getting back into his clothes before passing out.

Maxie looked outside. It was really snowing hard now. He went to the fire place and threw in another log to keep it warm.

While he waited for Archie to wake up he might as well get some work done. He pulled out his sketchbook and started drawing some new ideas. But they all sucked. Creativity would not come.

Maxie sighed and glanced at Archie. Well, when all else fails, draw what you see, he thought.

———

“Hey, wanna go out for dinner?” Archie asked in his normal, upbeat voice.

“What?” Maxie asked, feeling his face heat up.

“Some friends and I are going to that new restaurant for dinner tonight, and I was wondering if you wanted to come,” Archie said.

“Oh! Oh, um, I’m not sure,” Maxie replied, getting back to work. “I don’t know them, and…. Well, I guess that’s it.”

Archie laughed, a laugh that always made Maxie smile for some reason. “Oh, c’mon Max! The entire time I’ve known you you’ve only talked about two people - and you work with them! Do you even have friends?”

Maxie’s face flushed, but this time in embarrassment. “What? Of course I do!”

“Name one,” Archie countered.

“Richard!”

“… Richard?”

“Yes,” Maxie said, ‘accidentally’ poking Archie with a pin, which made him jump.

“What does ‘Richard’ do?” Archie said in a I totally know you’re lying but I’m going to humour you tone of voice.

“He’s a… one of those guys who sells tickets at the theatre,” Maxie said. That’s stupid, why was that the first thing to come in his mind?

“Oh, really? At what theatre?”

Fffffffffuu-

“C’mon Max. It won’t kill you to go out for one night. Besides, didn’t you say we were ahead of schedule? Celebrate!”

Maxie sighed. “What time?”

————

“So, what made you move here, Maxie?”

Maxie wanted to disappear. He had thought Archie would have a bunch of friends, and that he could just kinda let them talk amongst themselves without talking much himself. But turns out by “friends” he meant two. A married couple.

“I had some, uh…. family problems,” Maxie said, hoping that would be enough.

“Hey man, no need to tell me about family problems!” The man, Mat, said. “My family’s great, but Shelly’s? Wooooh! They need help!”

“Yeah,” Shelly said in irritation. “Our whole family had to move because the church found out my sister was gay.”

Maxie tried his best to hide his cringe. Were these really the people Archie associated with? Did he think the same way they did?

“Eh, she shoulda joined the navy!” Archie said. “Loads of gays there.”

“Yeah,” Mat added. “They don’t care what you are out at sea.”

“My family’s religious,” Shelly said. “Doesn’t matter where you are, it’s still wrong.”

“Hey, so how are you guys liking Lilycove?” Archie cut in.

“Oh, it’s beautiful!” Shelly said, and Mat nodded along. “The beach at night? Nothing more romantic than that!”

Maxie felt some of his tension leave. At least the topic was shifted now. But he still wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

—————

“Bye Archie! It was nice meeting you Maxie!”

Maxie gave a little wave, which was dwarfed beside Archie’s full arm wave. “See you guys later!”

Maxie turned and started walking towards the bus stop. Archie ran to catch up a moment latter.

“The food there was pretty good! Still not as good as the place on the other side of town, but that’s a long bus ride. Hey, you okay?”

“Great,” said Maxie, maybe a bit too harshly.

“Maxie? Hey, c’mon, what did I do this time?” This wasn’t the first time Maxie had gotten angry. Archie wasn’t the most perceptive of people though, so he rarely noticed until after the fact that he was angry.

“Nothing,” Maxie said less harshly. Technically he didn’t do anything. It was his homophobic friend that had made him feel horrible. They said people were more accepting on the east coast, but Maxie knew that there would always be people like her. He was almost getting used to not hearing anything homophobic, so it was about time, Maxie thought with irritation.

And the worst part was that she seemed nice other than that. Maxie could have seen himself being friends with her if she wasn’t….

Or if he wasn’t gay. That would solve a lot of problems.

“C’mon, I had to have done something. You never get upset for no reason.”

They reached the bus stop, and Maxie leaned against the post as he waited. What time was it anyway? He didn’t want to wait long.

“Maxie? C’mon, tell me. Pleeeaaassseee?”

Maxie was grinding his teeth so hard that he was sure he was causing lasting damage. But he couldn’t bring himself to care.

The buss going the opposite way stopped across the street. Maxie knew that the bus station wasn’t far, and that the bus would turn around once it reached the station. He somehow felt better knowing it would only be twenty minutes or so.

“Max?”

“Stop!” Maxie shouted. People passing looked their way, but kept going.

“….. Did I do something?” The question was softer this time, lacking Archie’s usual energy. Maxie realized that despite how many fights they had had, he’d never actually snapped at Archie before.

That was a sobering thought.

“I don’t want to talk about it, Archie.” Maxie half expected Archie to continue to try to get the information out of him, but he didn’t. He just silently stood beside Maxie, waiting for the bus.

A whole two minutes of silence passed before Maxie pulled out a cigarette. Forget quitting, today he was having as much as he wanted.

His hands shook as he tried to light it, and he went through three matches before he gave up. He pulled the cigarette out of his mouth with a sigh and stared up at the sky. It had no right showing off such a beautiful sunset when Maxie was feeling horrible.

“Are you okay?”

Maxie glanced over at Archie. He had almost forgotten that he was still there. Maxie rubbed his hands over his face, trying to release some of the tension there. “I’m fine.”

Archie went to say something more, but thought better of it.

Another few minutes passed.

“I’m sorry for snapping at you.” Maxie could see Archie turn to look at him through the corner of his eye, but he refused to look at the man. “It’s not your problem, it’s mine. And I should have my emotions under control by now.”

“You don’t need to apologize,” Archie said. “And like, if you want to talk about it - or not! Like, I’m not trying to pressure you or anything, so if you don’t want me to know then that’s fine too. But like, if you do want to talk about it, I’m here for you.”

“Hah,” Maxie tried to light his cigarette again, and this time his hands were steady enough.

“Hey Max?”

“Hmm?”

“So uh,” Archie was fidgeting his hands, which was actually kinda cute. “I don’t know what I did, and I don’t wanna pressure you, and like, you don’t have to tell me, like I said. But, uh… could you let me know what I did to set you off so I don’t do it again? Like, you don’t have to! If that crosses some line or something then whatever, I won’t bother you about it. I just don’t want to do whatever I did again -“

“Shut up,” Maxie said. His tone was playful, which helped lighten the moment. “Besides, it wasn’t anything you did or said. You just happened to be pestering me when I wanted - needed - time to cool off.”

“Oh!” Archie said. “Oh, that’s good. ‘Cause no offence Max, but you’re scary when you’re angry.”

Maxie laughed, which was something he hardly did. He had noticed that he started to do that when Archie was around.

“You think I’m bad, you shoulda met my dad. He was like an actual volcano.”

They both laughed at that one. “Hey, you never mention your family. Is everything okay with them?”

Well, that ruined the moment. Maxie’s family was… honestly horrible. They were super religious, like everyone out west. Everything was fine and perfect…. Until Maxie realized he was gay. And when his family learnt?

His father was furious. Basically any time he would lay eyes on Maxie he would get beaten. His siblings ignored him, as though associating with him would somehow bring their father’s rage upon them as well.

And his mother. Constantly yelling at him and crying, wondering what she did wrong for him to end up like this.

He went to church once after it got out. Everyone was staring at him and whispering, and he swears the priest chose the sermon just to hurt him personally.

Maxie had tried so hard. His family were geologists, so he got a job and saved up for school. He got his degree, and came back, hoping that that would be enough for them to see how wrong they were.

Turns out he was the one who was wrong. They didn’t care about that. They didn’t even want him to have the family name. So, Maxie moved out east and started designing fashion. Something he had wanted to do his whole life. Something to make him happy.

And he was. Those few years he had spent here, making a name for himself, building his company, those were great years. He had almost forgotten about his family.

Until now.

“Max?”

Maxie snapped out of his thoughts. He heard the bus coming, and put out his cigarette. His dad smoked….

That would be Maxie’s last one, he thought. He pulled out the pack the tossed them into the bin as the bus stopped, “Let’s go,” he said, and Archie followed behind him.

————

“Hey, Max!”

Maxie groaned, and flipped over in bed.

Knock knock!

“Maxie!”

Well, he was up now. And probably half of his neighbours, too.

The knocking continued as Maxie got out of bed and into a robe and slippers before opening the door to his flat. He regretted ever giving that man his address.

“What the hell Archie? It’s Saturday, let me sleep in.”

Archie walked past Maxie like he owned the place and started the kettle for coffee and tea. “Not today, friendo!”

“Friendo?” Maxie asked as he closed the door and shuffled to the counter. He didn’t have his glasses on, so he was just watching a shape walk around his kitchen opening and closing cupboards and drawers.

“Don’t you know what today is?”

“Saturday,” Maxie said in the most deadpan voice he could muster. “Our day off. A day to sleep in.”

Maxie heard Archie crack some eggs into a pan and decided he’d like to see what Archie was up to, so he shuffled back to his room to get his glasses.

By the time he got back Archie was just placing two plates with delicious looking omelettes on them onto the counter. Beside the plates were two steaming mugs.

Maxie sat down and grabbed a fork. “Okay, you’re buttering me up for something. What is it? Do you need a day off or something?”
“What? No!” Archie said as he put the frying pan into the sink and came to sit down. “But out of curiosity would you have given it to me?”

“Mmm, maybe,” Maxie said through a mouthful of eggs. “In exchange for breakfast every Monday. Where did you learn to cook?”

“Used to help my mom,” Archie said after swallowing a huge mouthful. “Speaking of families-“

Maxie shot a glare at Archie. He hadn’t told Archie anything, but they had always avoided the subject after that day.

“Hey, just hear me out, okay? I know that you’re not all that close with your family-“

“Understatement,” Maxie cut in.

“But you know, today is father’s day and my father’s coming to town and I thought you could join us,” Archie finished in a rush.

…

“Why would I want to do that?” Maxie asked.

“Well, since you aren’t going to see your dad today,” Archie said.

“I don’t want to see my dad,” Maxie said, stabbing his fork a little too strongly into his eggs.

Archie sighed. “Okay look, when I left home things were a little rocky. I haven’t seen my dad in person since then, and… I could really use a friend.”

“Oh,” Maxie said. He really wasn’t expecting that.

Was it weird to go with Archie? He’d have to spend the whole day with them. And if today turned out like that day at the restaurant….

“I don’t know, Archie…”

“Pleeeeaaaassseeeee?” Archie gave that puppy dog face that he knew worked so well on Maxie. “I’ll owe you one!”

Maxie sighed. Well, it wasn’t like he had anything else planned today. “Where would we be going?”

———

“Hey dad!”

“Archie!” Archie’s father was a big man, which was saying something since Archie was pretty big himself. In height he was an inch or so taller, and if Archie looked like he worked out this man looked like he lived in a gym.

Archie’s father picked him up in a huge hug. “Are you eating okay, son? Doing enough hard work?”

Archie laughed. “I’m eating fine. How’s mom?”

“She’s great, and sends her regards.”

That was the moment that Archie suddenly remembered Maxie existed and dragged his father towards him. “Dad, this is Maxie! He’s the designer that I told you about.”

“Well, nice to meet you Maxie!” Archie’s father grabbed his hand in a strong handshake.

“Nice to meet you too,” Maxie said at his most professional. “You’ve raised a wonderful son.”

“Haha, that I have!” he said, throwing an arm over Maxie’s shoulder. “But he ain’t perfect, you know. Has he told you about the time that he -“

“Okay dad! I’m sure Maxie doesn’t wanna hear about any of that!” Archie cut in grabbing his dad by the arm and pulling him away.

“Oh, quite the contrary,” Maxie said with a smirk. “I would love to hear all the embarrassing stories from your youth.”

Archie’s face flushed for the first time that Maxie could recall, and his father laughed. Maybe today wouldn’t be so bad after all.

————

“Are you sure you have to leave tonight? There’s loads more I haven’t shown you,” Archie said as he gave his dad a goodbye hug.

“Eh, you know I can’t delay this shipment. But mark my words, I’ll be back. And you had better show me that chilli place next time! I’ve heard great things!”

Maxie smiled as he watched them say their goodbyes from the end of the dock. The day had gone wonderfully, and Maxie wished he could have more days like that. Archie turned out to be a lot of fun when he had a whole day to plan for. And his father was great, too.

Maxie’s smile faltered for a second as he thought about his dad.

Nope. He wasn’t about to let that man ruin a wonderful day.

Archie came back after seeing his dad off. “That wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be!” Archie said.

They started walking back towards town. “No, it was quite pleasant. I guess you didn’t need me after all,” Maxie said.

“But it was way more fun with you there,” Archie said with a smile. “Even if my dad kept trying to tell you embarrassing stories about me.”

Maxie laughed. “Did you really try to grab a carvanha by the tail!?”

“Yeah, it really showed me!” Archie laughed. “Still got the scar to prove it! You gotta be looking for it though, here.”

Archie stopped and pointed to a spot on his face right between his eyes. Sure enough, Maxie saw a small, x shaped scar. “Woah. You’re pretty lucky. That could have been your eye,” Maxie said.

“Nah, my eyes are too beautiful, the universe would never allow that!” Archie laughed, but it made Maxie look at his eyes closer than he normally would.

They were a deep blue like the ocean. The bluest blue he’d ever seen in someone’s eyes before. They were… really pretty. Not that it mattered. Why should he care?

Maxie laughed along. “Don’t tempt the universe, Archie.”

————

It was a week until the show. A week until the deadline. One more week.

Maxie was freaking out. This was his first time in one of these shows, and this could very well make or break his career. And he only had one week to finish this last outfit.

“Calm down, Max,” Archie said as Maxie pocked him with a needle for the hundredth time that day.

“I can’t calm down! The show’s in a week, Archie!”

“You’re pretty much done. I’ve seen you finish a project this big in a single day before. You’ll be fine,” Archie said, trying to comfort the crazed fashion designer.

“It can’t just be fine, it has to be brilliant! Amazing! Extraordinary!”

Another stab.

“Okay, enough,” Archie said as he grabbed Maxie’s wrist.

“What are you doing? It’s not done yet!”

“No, but you are,” Archie said as he dragged Maxie to the couch.

“I absolutely am not! Let go of me!”

“Nope,” Archie said as he flopped down onto the sofa, pulling Maxie down to sit beside him. Archie grabbed a book and awkwardly opened it with one hand, then flipped to the page he had stopped at last time, all without letting go of Maxie’s wrist.

It took Maxie a moment to realize that Archie was, in fact, not going to let him go. He tried to pull away, but no matter what he did he couldn’t overpower Archie. “This is ridiculous! Let me go!”

“You’re too stressed, you can��t work like that. You’ll end up making mistakes.”

Archie wasn’t wrong, but with only a week left Maxie didn’t have the time to spare.

“Archie!”

Archie groaned and closed his book. He couldn’t read with all this noise. “How about dinner? When was the last time you ate?”

Maxie thought about it, but before he could remember Archie cut him off, pointing out that if it took him that long to think about it, it was too long ago.

“I am not going out like this,” Maxie stated. His hair was a mess, his clothes wrinkly and with a few tea stains. It almost looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Or gone home.

“Do you even have food at your house? Fresh food?”

“I don’t- no, probably not. I’ve been busy,” Maxie said defensively.

“Okay then, my house it is,” Archie said, finally letting go of Maxie’s wrist. “I live just down the street, so we can walk if you want.”

“What ar- but we have to finish!”

“Maxie, c’mon. You’ll feel better after you eat and sleep.”

Maxie couldn’t counter that.

————

Maxie was half asleep on the couch when Archie placed a plate full of food on the coffee table in front of him. “Oh, thank you,” he said, giving himself a stretch before grabbing the fork.

“No problem,” Archie said and sat next to him. He put a bottle of wine on the table, and poured them each a glass.

“Wine, really? Are we on a date or something?” Maxie asked sarcastically. Of course, that just put the idea of a real date with Archie in his head, and he quickly had to erase that.

“I always have wine with dinner,” Archie said. “My mom used to say it was healthy to have a glass a day.”

“Well, I’m not complaining,” Maxie said after he had taken a sip. “This is quite nice. Better than anything we ever got out west.”

Once they were done their dinner, they continued to chat and drink for hours. The sun slowly set, and eventually Maxie noticed the time.

“I should probably go now, before the last bus goes by,” Maxie said without even attempting to get up. He was super comfy leaning against the couch and chatting with Archie.

“Nah man, stay here tonight. Who knows what kind of weirdos take the last bus of the night,” Archie pointed out as he refilled Maxie’s glass.

“True,” Maxie agreed. “It would be absolutely horrible if I were to be killed the week before the show. All that work would be for nothing.”

Archie laughed, which brought a smile to Maxie’s face. “Well, at least you got to know me!” Archie teased.

“And I wouldn’t change that for the world,” Maxie agreed.

“Awwww, that’s cute,” Archie said, leaning closer to Maxie and batting his eyelashes.

“Hmmm. Tell anyone I said that and I’ll kill you,” Maxie countered and finished off his glass.

“You wouldn’t do that to me,” Archie said with a laugh. “You’d miss me too much!”

“Maybe,” Maxie agreed.

They were both laughing now. Archie laughed a little too hard and spilled some of his wine on Maxie’s pants.

“Oh man! Sorry, I guess I was leaning too far forward,” he said as he looked around for something to wipe it up with.

“Don’t even worry about it,” Maxie said, and waved his hand in dismissal. “This entire outfit needs to be thrown out when this week is over. One extra stain isn’t important. Now, if this was the show outfit….”

Archie laughed again. “Yeah, you’d probably kill me for real then.”

A few minutes passed where Maxie just stared off into space. When Archie asked him what he was thinking about, he could honestly say “I don’t know.”

“I think,” Maxie started, then lost his train of thought.

“What do you think?” Archie asked.

Maxie looked into those far too blue eyes and felt himself melt away. “I think… I’m drunk. And you should let me sleep in in the morning, or you’ll have to deal with a very tired, hungover Maxie.”

Archie laughed at that. “Okay, fair enough. I’ll get you a blanket,” Archie said as he got up and headed into another room.

Maxie lied down and closed his eyes, listening to the sounds of the city outside. He was almost asleep when Archie came back.

“C’mon, get up. You need a pillow or you’re gonna have a sore neck tomorrow.” He was right of course, but Maxie still groaned as he forced himself into a sitting position.

The blanket Archie gave him was soft, and Maxie was curled up and ready for sleep before Archie was done turning off the lamps.

“Hey, Max?”

“Hmmm?”

“How drunk are you? Like, are you gonna remember that I spilled wine on you in the morning?”

“You spilled wine on me?” Maxie asked. Oh yeah, he remembered now. He was too tired to care, though.

“Maxie?”

“Hmmm?”

Maxie felt a hand on his face, so he opened his eyes. The moon was bright out, so Maxie could see every feature on Archie’s concerned face. “I’m fine,” Maxie said, even though Archie hadn’t asked.

He was staring. He knew he was. But Archie was staring right back, and Maxie couldn’t bring himself to care that he would have probably looked away had he been awake and sober.

Then, Archie leaned down and brushed his lips against Maxie’s. That snapped him out of his half-asleep, tipsy state. His hand shot out and grabbed Archie’s arm. “Archie?”

And Archie leaned down and kissed him. Maxie’s head was spinning, his heart was racing, but he was kissing back. Archie was kissing him, and he was kissing back.

He had pushed this thought from his head countless times, as though refusing to imagine this it would somehow make it easier to pretend he had no feelings for Archie. And it was working, but now?

Maxie knew he could never go back now.

Archie pulled away with an awkward cough. “Well, uh, goodnight,” he said, and walked away to his room.

Maxie stared at the ceiling in shock. “What just happened?” He lightly traced his lips with his hand. He didn’t have much time to think about it as he quickly fell asleep, but the butterflies in his stomach stayed even in his dreams.

————

Maxie woke to the smell of tomatoes and the sound of chopping. The sun was already high in the sky as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

Then Maxie remembered where he was, and what happened last night. Did it happen, though? Or was it Maxie’s imagination and subconscious mixing with his tipsy, sleep deprived brain?

Maxie got up and folded the blanket before heading towards the kitchen. His mind was furiously sorting things he remembered, determining what was real and what was dreamt.

“Good morning,” Maxie said with a yawn.

“Good morning!” Archie said, but only gave Maxie a glance.

Oh, so it was real. Was that going to make things awkward now? There was less than a week until the show, Maxie couldn’t have his model acting weird, or worse, quitting.

Maxie shook that thought from his head. That was a load of bull. Maxie didn’t want to loose Archie, period. As a model, as a friends, or as… something else. So he decided to dive right in.

“So, that kiss last night?” Maxie started. Archie instantly froze. There was an awkward silence. Maxie half expected Archie to deny it, or to turn around and laugh it off. Not silence, though. That was so unlike him.

“What was all that about?” Maxie asked.

Archie slowly put the knife down and grabbed the counter, but still didn’t say anything.

“Archie?”

Nothing.

Maxie got up and walked to his side, but Archie turned his head to avoid eye contact.

“Come on, you can’t just pretend I’m not here. What are you, a child?”

“No, I just…”

“There we go! Words! Isn’t that better?” Maxie teased, then instantly regretted it. That was so lame, why did he say that? Why was he so bad with these types of situations? “Sorry, that was stupid.”

“No, I was,” Archie said. “Look, I’m sorry. I thought you were drunk and wouldn’t remember, and I know that that’s not okay anyway, and I should never have done that, and you are probably super mad at me and that’s fine! That’s absolutely okay, because I deserve it! I just, I don’t even know what came over me. You’re such a good friend and I really don’t want to loose that just because I was stupid. I mean, just because I like you doesn’t mean we can’t be friends, right? I’ll get over it eventually. We could just pretend that never happened-”

Archie kept going, but Maxie didn’t hear him.

Did Archie just admit to liking him? But that didn’t make sense, Archie wasn’t gay. He couldn’t be. In the few months they had known each other he had probably pointed out a hundred “hot” girls to him.

And yet Archie was still rambling. He should… probably stop him.

Maxie grabbed Archie’s arm. “Archie.”

Archie kept going, slightly louder now, as though he was afraid of what Maxie would say.

“Archie. Archie. Hey, stop that. Archie!”

With a big inhale Archie finally stopped. He was staring down at the cutting board, his hands balled into fists. “Look at me.” He didn’t move. “Archie, look at me.” Archie shook his head.

Maxie grabbed his face and turned it towards himself. Archie kept his eyes closed. Which was fine, considering how nervous Maxie was. It was nice knowing that Archie was just as nervous, if not more.

This time Maxie leaned in for the kiss. He could feel Archie tense up for a moment. Maxie wrapped one arm around Archie’s neck and pulled him closer. Archie hesitantly put his hands on Maxie’s hips.

When they finally pulled away and made eye contact they sort of shuffled away, but didn’t let go of each other.

“So, uh…?”

“It was absolutely not cool to have kissed me when I was drunk like that,” Maxie stated.

“Oh.” Archie’s arms dropped away and he tried to dislodge himself from Maxie. But Maxie wasn’t having any of that.

“Our first kiss should have been after a brilliant date, like it’s supposed to be. It’s going to be quite difficult for you to make that up to me.”

That stopped Archie altogether, and he just stared at Maxie as his brain tried to process what just happened. Maxie smiled when Archie finally laughed. The tension was broken.

“Whatever you’re making for breakfast had better be amazing,” Maxie said as he headed towards the washroom.

“I’ll make you amazing breakfasts every day if you want,” Archie called back.

Maxie smiled as he closed the door behind him.

————

“Are you sure I look okay?” Archie asked for the twentieth time that minute.

“Archie, you look beautiful, stop asking,” Maxie said as he circled the two models. This was it, show time.

“You’ll do fine,” Courtney said, grabbing his hand.

Archie quickly glanced at Maxie, who was looking at their hands intertwined together before shaking it off and continuing his inspection. Archie wasn’t sure if Maxie was the jealous type or not, and now would not be a good time to figure it out.

“Uh,” Archie shook his hand out of Courtney’s grip. “Thanks.”

The announcer announced the next designer, and a stage manager came rushing towards them. “You’re on next. Ma’am, you’ll start on the other side of the stage.

“Okay,” Courtney said, but Maxie grabbed her before she could leave.

“Okay, this is over a year of work we’re showing off, so I want you two to really blow them away for me, okay?” He grabbed their hands and put them together, giving Archie a meaningful look. ‘It’s okay, go all out.’

“We won’t disappoint you,” Courtney said.

“Courtney!” Tabitha was frantically waving from the other side of the stage.

Maxie gave her hand one more squeeze before she ran off to join Tabitha. Maxie and Archie headed towards their side of the stage. “You’ll do great,” Maxie whispered.

“Thanks! This isn’t like my normal roles,” Archie admitted.

Maxie glanced around to make sure no one was near, then pulled Archie down for a quick kiss. “I know you’ll do great.”

“And next up is Maxie from Lavaridge!”

————

They were all sitting in the waiting room of Maxie’s studio, eating cake, drinking, and laughing. “Third place isn’t bad considering it was my first time,” Maxie pointed out.

“It’s absolutely unheard of!” Tabitha mocked one of the older ladies that had attended.

“Pffff, that lady’s never met Max before!” Archie said, throwing his arm around Maxie and leaning in. Maxie lightly pushed him off, glancing at the other two.

“Okay okay,” Tabitha said, noticing. Maxie had a mini panic attack as he ran through his history with Tabitha to try and find any moment that would tell him if Tabitha would be okay with this or not.

“Courtney and I had a bet,” he said, gesturing to a nodding Courtney and himself. “About whether or not you two would get together.”

Maxie felt his face heat up. Suddenly Archie’s arm (which he hadn’t been able to push off of his shoulders) made him feel claustrophobic. The room was spinning, and not just from the alcohol. Tabitha was one of Maxie’s only friends, if he didn’t -

“Who bet what?” Archie asked, leaning forward.

“I bet,” Courtney started, “that you two were going to end up together before the show.”

“There’s no way,” Tabitha stated. “Maxie’d drop hints ‘till the end of time and never go for it, and Archie’s not smart enough to pick up the hints - uh, no offence.”

“None taken!” Archie laughed. “I definitely didn’t pick up any hints, at least not consciously.”

“I didn’t drop hints! I don’t do that!” Maxie said in exasperation.

“So I was right?” Courtney asked.

“What do you get for winning?” Archie asked.

Tabitha sighed and pulled out his wallet. It took Maxie a moment to realize what was happening.

“You two are actually horrible,” Maxie joked.

“Well hey, now that they know, I can do this,” Archie said, and dived to rub his beard against Maxie’s neck. Maxie jumped back and tried to push him away through his laughter.

————

“Hey Max.”

“Hmmm?”

Archie sat on the corner of Maxie’s desk, which was, for once, pretty clean. “Whatcha doing?”

“Looking at this paperwork. Are we 100% sure we want to move here? Because once we do we’re stuck for a few years.”

“I’m sure if you are,” Archie said. “I’m happy wherever you are.”

Maxie laughed and rolled his eyes. “Cheesy.”

“And if we do move, I’ve already found you a commission,” Archie pointed out.

“Okay, you’ve got my interest. Continue,” Maxie said, sitting back and folding his arms.

“The Sootopolis theatre needs costumes for its next show, and I showed them some of the stuff you made. They’re really interested, and they pay well.”

“Well, you got me,” Maxie said. He signed the papers and passed the to Archie. “Mail these next time you go out?”

“Will do!” Archie said.

Later that night, when they were in bed and Archie was softly snoring with Maxie in his arms, Maxie opened his eyes and looked out at the moon through his window.

If only his family could see him now, he thought with bitter confidence. He was successful, he was well known, he was dating the most handsome man in all of Hoenn, and that man also happened to be an upcoming star.

Maxie’s life ended way better than he would have ever imagined all those years ago.

[pkmn-r-us]

psstttt... have you played swsh yet? if yes, what are your thoughts on the characters?

yes! I’ve played and I love it!

The characters are all so good, though I’ve only got Shield so characters like Bea and Gordie I don’t have much of an opinion on:

Hop: I never cared for rival characters aside from Trace in LPLE, so Hop is kind of bland for me. At least he wasn’t like the next one:

Before I move on to the long post response of my opinion on all the characters I just wanna add a bonus here first:

Ball Guy: A weirdo with a good mission. Not the hero we need but the hero we deserve. Thank you Ball Guy for giving me cool rare Pokeballs I’ll never use and thank you for giving me your card. I will frame it and hang it up to admire it with love. Bless you Ball Guy for cheering me on in your own odd little way.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Bede: I do not like him. Gary 2.0. tragic backstory doesn’t do much to change my opinion either. But it was after he was picked up by Opal that it kind of grew on me a bit and I think that was a really good choice.

Marnie: Adorable and sweet and is just a really good friend. She is confident and strong but a little shy and I adore her. so much. Where can I sign up for Team Yell to support her? She has excellent taste in Pokemon, too. 100/10

Sonia: I don’t have anything to say? Pretty cool though that she became the Professor in the end! Watching her little side journey of getting there!

Prof.Magnolia: Didn’t have much of a presence in the game and didn’t exactly do much. But she seems like she would be a cool grandma.

Team Yell: Just a group of people who genuinely love and support Marnie like some over excited parents at their kids first big sports game. They have good hearts but are often unaware of how they’re acting and how that is affecting the people around them. They got the spirit, but are just a bit confused.

Milo: He big beef and a sweetie. He has grown a bit on me after playing through the game. He is a very sweet guy and I greatly appreciate him and his genuine love and care he gives to everyone and his Pokemon and the wild Pokemon, too. His challenge was so cute and fun.

Nessa: She is pretty.. I honestly don’t know what else to say. She is beautiful, though she can be a tad rude sometimes, but who isn’t? Like a 20-something internet model celebrity and probably a pro-swimmer.

Kabu: ....I am shamelessly on the bandwagon of “Kabu is hot“ because he is and I can’t help it.. He is a goofy and serious fun guy who has such an amazing Pokemon that I worked so hard to get my own of. 100/10 would hold hands with him. His trot is silly and cute and I just can’t get enough of him. He is just a very genuine sweetheart with a fiery and childish spirit.

Allister: MY SON. I have adopted him the moment I laid my eyes on him. He is adorable and precious and is the only one who gave me a challenge during the game. I love this little boy and will protect him from everyone and everything. I will give him everything and anything he wants.

Opal: I have adopted this kooky old lady as my grandma. She is excellent and I absolutely love her. Back in her prime she was drop dead gorgeous and she is still pretty today in her old age. I’m just sorry I failed her quiz jfhfgadfgsf Her gym and her battle were so much fun to go through, I would face her again if I could! Has officially adopted Bede as her own grandson.

Melony: She is thick! And warm! and sweet! and soft! and beautiful! And her gym mission had me in a state of anxiety and panic as I ran through the foggy frozen field of pitfall traps to get to her. A+ mom, I want her to adopt me.

Piers: Feral mongoose boy. A cute punk whom has stolen my heart the first time I laid my eyes on him. I want lifetime tickets to all of his shows and merch of his, too. He was the best and I am SO happy to have had him join me around the region at the end and in the post-game. Absolutely beautiful man.

Raihan: Basic pretty boy of the region. Which seems to be a running theme with dragon type users? I have seen at least a few people call him an “e-boy“ and I haven’t the slightest idea what that even means... but he isn’t bad looking and certainly had the most bizarre battle breaking rules with having one non-dragon type Pokemon and utilizing weather conditions? Wild.

Leon: ...He has pretty eyes. And should have only been in the fancy outfit he wears post-game when you fight him again. He looks so good like that. Not much else I can say really.. other than I made my goal to end his career and I did just that with minimal struggle. Bet he enjoys his free time now.

Oleana: ...She is tol and pretty.. and I have a big crush on her. It’s really cute she has a Garbodor and I headcanon she babies and spoils it. She is dedicated to her job and doesn’t mind at all doing community service in place of the chairman. She is very intimidating but in only the best way. I love her.

Chairman Rose: He thicc, he good looking, he is a himbo. He has his heart in the right place, but is a little confused about how to properly go about things. I adore him and am pretty sad I don’t get to hang out with him post-game like you could with Archie and Maxie in ORAS. However, I do gotta say I was not expecting his battle music to be like THAT. But I am not disappointed! His animations and expressions have been such a treat for me..... as is his silly incognito outfit. I can’t get over that outfit, love his anklet. I would gladly hold hands with this man.

Sordward & Shielbert: 🔪🗡️🔥 I’d love to take a pair of hedge clippers to their hair. gOSH WHY DOES IT FLOP LIKE THAT. WHY. Horrible characters. The true villains of the game. Their names are also a crime like their hair. They look like a pair of Japanese game show hosts. -10000/10 I highly recommend using fire types with luck incense and amulet coins when going up against them.

[clefaiiiry]

Title: May

Fandom: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions, Pocket Monsters: Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire | Pokemon Omega Ruby & Alpha Sapphire Versions, Pocket Monsters: Red & Green & Blue & Yellow | Pokemon Red Green Blue Yellow Versions 

Word Count: 3,631

Relationship: Aogiri | Archie/Matsubusa | Maxie

Characters: Matsubusa | Maxie, Haruka | May, Senri | Norman, Aogiri | Archie, Lance | Proton, Lambda | Petrel, Apollo | Archer (Mentioned)

Additional Tags: Team Rocket AU, Baby May, Adoption, Might get a second chapter haven't decided yet, Offscreen character death, First Meetings, Awkward Flirting, The best kind of flirting, idk man just take it

AO3 Version

To say Norman wasn’t popular in Team Rocket was an understatement. He did as he was told and kept to himself. He had few connections within the organisation and didn’t see the need to broaden his horizons. Hardly anyone could recognise his face and those who did would only groan about the stick up his ass. There was a rumour that he was close to becoming an Executive, though anyone caught whispering about such nonsense were put on Archer’s shit list.

Why he was ‘best pals’ with a scientist working in Goldenrod City was beyond anyone’s understanding. Maxie Matsubusa was nothing special in the seemingly endless lines of scientists, but Norman had decided he was worth his time.

Not that Maxie would ever complain. Norman kept the Executives off his back and showed a genuine interest in his personal studies. Anything to distract him from the damn Mew Project. Besides, it was nice to have someone within Team Rocket to be able to rely on.

Even so, that didn’t mean he expected to Norman to show up in his lab with a six-month-old baby in his arms.

“This is my daughter, May,” he said, as if that explained everything.

Maxie nodded slowly, wondering if he’d had enough coffee to deal with this. “Right...”

“Say hi, May,” Norman said, taking one of her little hands and waving it.

Without even meaning to, Maxie waved back.

After that day, Norman was never seen without her. May was usually strapped to his chest, waving at passing grunts. Petrel was especially fond of her.

“Awh, she looks just like you!” He said one morning, lowering himself to be at eye level with May and attempting to make her laugh. Norman muttered something about how yes, children generally look like their parents.

Despite Petrel’s best efforts, May just stared at him blankly. He was about to give up when she grabbed his beard and yanked. Hard.

The sound Petrel made was inhuman, but it made May burst into a fit of giggles.

Thankfully, Petrel took it in good humour. “She admires it!” He claimed, though somehow Norman found himself disagreeing.

The other Executives were less than thrilled with the development, but as long as Norman continued to maintain the same work output, they couldn’t really complain.

May just became part of the routine.

Norman brought her to visit Maxie every few days. Every time, she would hold out both arms to the scientist until he gave her a hug. He was clueless as to why she expressed such affection towards him.

“It’s because she likes you,” Norman insisted, “you’re basically her uncle by now, anyway.”

Some part of Maxie wanted to protest, but the way the girl would stare up at him with huge, adoring eyes was enough to keep it down.

It was a few months later when Norman did something unexpected once again.

“Can I ask you to do me a massive favour?” he asked, not looking up from May who was asleep in his arms.

Maxie frowned. “Depends what it is.”

“Archer roped me into a mission to Cinnabar Island. I need you to take care of May for a few days, week at the most.”

There was a beat of silence before Maxie sighed and reached up to readjust his glasses. “I’m thoroughly convinced that leaving me in charge of your child is a bad idea.”

“Who else can I leave her with? Ariana is out of the question and Petrel will definitely want to keep her if I let him anywhere near her again.”

“What about Proton?”

“I wouldn’t trust Proton as far as I could throw him.” Norman smoothed out the little bow in May’s hair. “Honestly, you’re probably the only person she won’t throw a fit with.”

A little groan came from May as she stretched out. Norman’s expression didn’t change as he lifted her to rest against his side, her head on his shoulder.

“Think about it,” he said, pushing up to his feet, “I’m heading off on Friday, so I’ll need an answer by then.”

Maxie didn’t even have a chance to say a word before Norman was heading out, May poking her head over his shoulder to wave as they disappeared into the hallway, the door clicking shut behind them.

The lights in the lab suddenly felt significantly harsher as Maxie sunk back in his seat. He rubbed a hand over his face and let out a long sigh.

It wasn’t like he had much choice in the matter, he couldn’t exactly leave May with someone like Petrel, but that didn’t make him feel any better about the prospect of caring for a small child.

Of course, this was when he realised that he couldn’t go back to work with how harshly his hands were shaking. His nerves frayed much too easily.

After a quick glance around to make sure the lab was unoccupied, he took the Poké Ball from his coat pocket and released Numel into the room. The creature blinked slowly, wobbling on groggy feet. Maxie smiled, lowering himself to his knees to pet the Pokémon’s head.

“Sorry, did I wake up?”

Numel huffed, but pushed their head into their trainer’s hand. Maxie chuckled softly, nuzzling his forehead into the Pokémon’s nose.

“Urh, hey, is Norman in here?”

The voice was so sudden that Maxie let out an undignified squeak. In his hurry to stand, the back of his head slammed into the desk with a loud thud. His ears were ringing as he clutched his skull, letting out a anguished groan. He was vaguely aware of a person crouching at his side.

“Shit, you okay?”

He tried not to flinch when he felt a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll be fine.”

It was only when he opened his eyes that he realised his glasses had fallen off. He cursed under his breath, fumbling around with all the grace of a Magikarp.

The person at his side pressed them into his hand. “I got ya.”

Maxie muttered his thanks as he pushed them on and finally got a look at them. He momentarily forgot how to breathe.

The man crouched beside him was probably the most beautiful man Maxie had ever seen and he was certain that he would probably start crying if he had any less self-control. He did not, however, have enough self-control to stop himself from gaping for as long as he did.

“You sure you don’t have to go to the medical bay? That was a pretty bad lookin’ bump.”

“I’m fine!” Maxie yelped, covering his face with his hands. “I just didn’t sleep very well last night.”

The man laughed, and the sound warmed something in Maxie’s chest. “If you say so,” he said. The grunt stood, offering a hand to help up Maxie. The man’s grip was strong, the heat a nice contrast to how cold Maxie’s hands always were.

After another long moment of staring at the man, Maxie cleared his throat and looked away. “Sorry, can I help you?” he muttered.

The man grinned. “The name’s Archie. I was told-” He did a quick glance around the lab. “-that I could find Norman here?”

Maxie felt his heart rate finally starting the settle. “You just missed him.”

“That sucks.” Archie waved his hands quickly. “I mean, it sucks that I missed him. But I guess I got to meet you so that’s cool.” His eyes darted around, unable to settle on one point. “Ah jeez... Sorry that was kinda forward-”

“No, no, it’s alright, honestly,” Maxie said, fussing with the hem of his lab coat.

A grunt from the floor caught their attention. Numel was pouting, headbutting their trainer’s leg and huffing impatiently. Archie gave the Pokémon and pat on the head.

“Awh, hey little fella,” he cooed, “sorry did I interrupt cuddle time?”

Maxie folded his arms. “Don’t be ridiculous,” he grumbled, “I was just about to feed him when you barged in.”

“That’s a shame,” Archie said, “there’s nothing better than a good cuddle with your Pokémon. I do it all the time with my Carvanha!”

Suddenly Maxie was very concerned. “Don’t they have extremely rough skin?”

Archie shrugged. “Yeah, but they still deserve cuddles, right?”

“Well, yes, but-”

Archie shushed him. “They can’t help their rough skin. They’re just big babies who want hugs.”

Maxie stared at him for a long moment, feeling the colour return to his cheeks. Why was this man, who could most likely snap him in half without too much effort, so adorable?

“Anyway,” Archie announced, “as much as I hate to leave ya, I gotta take off.” He frowned for a second before he snapped his fingers and met Maxie’s eyes. “Oh yeah, I didn’t catch your name, did I?”

“It’s Maxie.”

Archie opened his hand and started trailing his finger over his palm. The movements were rapid, but flowed smoothly. Maxie frowned.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Archie stared blankly for a second. “Oh, I kinda picked it up from a friend of mine. She always said that if you write someone’s name on your hand three times you’ll never forget it.”

Maxie hummed. “Nice sentiment, though I am unsure of how it would work in practise.”

“Hey, it hasn’t failed me so far.”

Once he was finished, Archie headed out. He paused in the doorway before turning back with a grin.

“By the way, I think you’d look way cuter with your hair down.”

In the next second, the door had been slammed in his face.

Maxie grumbled as he went back to his desk, glaring at the door for a full minute before the tension bled from his shoulders. He looked down at his palm. After a short while, he started tracing the start of an ‘A’.

“-And she needs a nap at one o’clock or she gets grouchy by bedtime. Hey, are you listening to me?”

Maxie perked up. “Yes, of course,” he lied.

Norman narrowed his eyes, but decided not to comment.

Maxie had never been fond of water, especially not a force quite as unforgiving as the ocean, but he begrudgingly accepted the invitation to see Norman off. The sea air made him feel physically ill, and the way a particularly high wave would crash over the pier was, for lack of a better word, terrifying. He just hoped that the way he’d plastered his back to the wall was subtle enough to go unnoticed.

Keeping May up this late would certainly backfire, but so long as she got the missed hours back somewhere Norman didn’t mind too much. Maxie, who was aware that he was the one who would have to deal with it, struggled not to take it personally.

Grunts milled around them, loading the stolen fishing trawler for the trip. Maxie was certain he’d seen Proton hanging around, but had managed to avoid the Executive so far.

A long yawn rose from May and she nestled herself further into Maxie’s side.

“Don’t worry sweetheart,” Norman said, a rare smile crossing his features, “you only have to stay awake a little while longer.”

May whined, reaching out to grab at her father’s sleeve. He let her grip his thumb.

“Thanks again,” he said without looking up, his voice somehow lacking in its usual firmness, “I know sort of sprung this on you last minute...”

Maxie shook his head. “You can make it up to me some other time. Besides-” He ruffled May’s hair. “-she’s not so bad. For a child.”

A rare chuckle rose from Norman. “Kids, eh? Who’d have them?”

The pace of which the grunts moved suddenly increased tenfold and Norman let out a long sigh. He shouldered his duffle bag. “Looks like we’re heading out.”

“Will you let us know when you arrive?” Maxie asked as May squirmed in his hold.

Norman shook his head. “Can’t. Complete radio silence. Proton is going to kill someone by the end of it.” He leaned down to press a kiss to May’s forehead. “Be good, alright?”

She only huffed.

“I’m sure we’ll manage,” Maxie chuckled.

With a nod, Norman turned on his heel and followed the grunts on board the ship. He didn’t look back.

It was two days since the mission was supposed to end and Norman still hadn’t returned. Maxie didn’t find himself as concerned as he thought he should be. Missions went sour quite often. Arrests were growing increasingly common with how much of a nuisance Team Rocket liked to make themselves.

No one had sent Maxie any updates. Not that he expected them to, no one ever went out of their way to tell him anything, but he thought that he would’ve heard something by now.

He was brought from his thoughts by the sound of May muttering in her sleep, strapped to his back and drooling on his coat. It was more practical to have her there rather than leaving her in a corner of the lab to make a mess.

Maxie briefly considered waking her up when he heard yelling in the hallway. He lowered his papers and paced across to the door, poking his head out and frowning.

There were few people Maxie was truly intimidated by. Executive Proton was not one of them. He was nothing more than a brute who used threats of violence and blackmail to get his way. Maxie avoided him out of spite rather than fear.

Proton was berating some poor grunt, most likely just because he was bored and not because the grunt had actually done anything wrong.

“Go on, get out of my sight,” Proton said with a wave of his hand. The grunt scurried away with their head low.

Maxie waited until the grunt was around the end of the corridor before he decided to approach.

“Sir?” he asked.

The Executive’s head lulled back, and he let out a groan. “What do you want?” he grumbled as he turned, eyes narrow, hat sat at a skewed angle.

“I take it the mission was a failure,” Maxie said slowly. Proton’s laugh made him shudder.

“Yeah, you could say that.” Proton took out a packet of cigarettes. Maxie wanted to remind him that there was no smoking in the labs, but decided against it. “Archer probably set us up, but I can’t take that shit to the boss without any proof.”

With a frown, Maxie said, “do I dare ask for the details?”

Proton simply shrugged. “Lost some guys. No big deal, grunts like that are disposable anyway.”

“I’m afraid I don’t understand?”

“Huh?” Proton noticed May and chuckled. “Oh yeah, Norman left his brat with you. Hope you’re ready for the long haul.”

Maxie felt his blood run cold.

“I should really be going,” Proton said, making little effort to hide the smirk spreading across his features, “Get back to work, Matsubusa. Don’t want that cute kid to go hungry, do you?”

Without giving Maxie an opportunity to respond, Proton headed off, rooting in his pockets for a lighter. Maxie only realised he was still stood in the hallway when May started crying.

The next week was a blur. Between working on the Mew Project that Archer kept pushing and making sure May was content, he barely had a minute to himself.

Not that he minded too much. Maxie preferred it to being left to dwell in his own thoughts.

He finally understood why parents became hopelessly obsessed with protecting their children from every potential threat, regardless of the intensity. It wasn’t like he was making an active effort to hover, but he found dangers in places he wouldn’t even expect them.

Part of that was certainly because he spent most of his time in the lab, May desperate to touch anything in reach.

The best solution seemed to be talking. It could amuse her for a good hour or two if he just kept voicing his ideas to a toddler who couldn’t yet engage in intelligent discussion. It was like having a lab assistant. A nonverbal, not very helpful lab assistant but she kept his spirits up and that was the most he could ask for.

Considering he was mostly parenting through guess work, he was impressed with how well he was doing.

That was, until May figured out that her real father wasn’t coming back.

May rarely cried. She preferred to voice her discomfort through whines and gentle prodding until she got the attention she needed.

But one night she wailed and howled for hours with no end in sight. No matter what he tried, Maxie couldn’t get her to settle. He would just have to wait until she tired herself out.

Even if it took all night.

There was a pounding at his front door and it took Maxie a solid five minutes to finally work up the motivation to answer it.

A brute of a man stood in the doorway, his face creased from decades of scowling. Maxie had never spoken to him before, and he was glad he had put off introducing himself to the neighbours for so long.

“Would you shut that damn brat up?!” he yelled, “Some of us need to sleep!”

Maxie wanted nothing more than to tell the man where he could stuff his complaints, but he forced composure. “I’m sorry,” His voice was strained, “But she’s a baby. Babies cry-”

“The damn thing needs a muzzle!”

The door was slammed in his face and there was a small dip of silence before May started up again.

Maxie decided he wasn’t getting anywhere and he pulled on a coat, lifting the shrieking girl into his arms. It took him a solid minute to wrestle her into some warmer layers and he left his apartment.

By the time he had reached the street level, May’s screams weren’t quite as intense, but she was still sobbing fiercely and burying her face into his shoulder. He rubbed her back and tried to soothe her, but it wasn’t enough to quell her tears.

The night air was cool and dry, but he’d rather stay outside rather than risk another encounter with a sleep-deprived neighbour.

“Max?”

Of all the people he expected to run into, Archie certainly was not at the top of the list.

“Didn’t know you lived ‘round here,” he said as he approached, still in uniform. He had likely only just got off his shift.

“Oh, I’m urh...” Maxie gestured clumsily towards his apartment block. “Over there.”

Before Archie could respond, another high-pitched wail came from May. She wriggled in Maxie’s grip and pounded her tiny fists on his shoulder.

“Got your hands full?” Archie asked, his expression making it evident that he was trying his damnedest not to laugh.

Maxie deadpanned a, “you could say that,” before he went back to trying to hush her. “She’ll tire herself out... eventually...”

Archie let out a light chuckle and shook his head. “Didn’t know you had a kid.”

“She’s not mine,” Maxie said. His lips tightened as he reconsidered his words. “Well, she is now,” he admitted, “her father left her with me.”

Archie nodded, but didn’t push any further. Maxie was thankful for that.

They stood together for a long while. Maxie wasn’t keeping track of the time. If May weren’t still sobbing her little heart out, he would’ve been able to appreciate it a little more.

Archie cleared his throat, a cloud of breath rising in the night air. “Can I have a try?” He held out his hands.

Maxie considered it for a long moment before he nodded. “Be my guest.”

With a level of care that Maxie didn’t know a man of his size could be capable of, Archie took May and brought her to his chest.

“Hey there, little lady,” he said, rubbing her back as she squirmed, “I’m sure Max would really appreciated it if you’d let him sleep.”

Maxie snorted, and would deny he ever made such a sound until his dying breath.

Between his soft voice and gentle swaying, Archie easily lulled May off to sleep. Maxie would’ve joined her if he hadn’t caught himself. Once she was finally snoring, Archie carefully passed her back.

“How on Earth did you-”

“Oldest of five.” Archie grinned. “You learn a few tricks.”

A fond smile graced Maxie’s expression as he glanced down to the girl sleeping in his arms.

“How about you?”

“Huh?” Oh no, how long had Archie been staring at him? Maxie wished he could hide his face.

“You got any siblings?”

“No, no,” Maxie said, “it’s just me.”

“Awh, thought you’d be the baby.”

Maxie scoffed. “Of course not.”

A little whimper made both men freeze. May shifted, but remained asleep. Maxie let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.

“I suppose I should get her back inside.”

“Urh, yeah...” Archie scratched the back of his head. “I’ll... see you at work then.”

Being cautious of how May was positioned, Maxie fumbled in his pocket for his keys. Between the dim light and his own poor eyesight, he spent more time than he would’ve liked with Archie hovering awkwardly at his side.

When he finally fished out the elusive keys and got the door open, he offered a weak smile. “Goodnight, Archie.”

“Goodnight, Max.”

“Please, call me Maxie.”

That stupid smile made Maxie want to huddle under his duvet until his stomach stopped doing backflips.

“Sure thing, Maxie.” The name sounded natural on Archie’s tongue. “If lil’ missy wakes up again, you know who to call.”

Maxie could only nod, not trusting his voice.

With that, Archie turned and headed off down the street. He stopped briefly and turned back, offering a wave and a toothy grin before he carried on. Maxie watched until he was out of sight.

[spaceys-gt-writing]

Sharks and Minnows, (G/T Pokemon fic)

Summary:  You decide to take a nap in a poké ball. Archie happens to find a poké ball on the way to the base. It goes about as well as you can expect. Ships: Sliiiiight Archie/Reader if you squint. also on ao3 here [x]

Generally, you left poké balls alone.

The risk of opening one at your size was far too much. Either you found a potion or a TM that you had no use for, or you risked unleashing an animal dozens, or hundreds, of times your size, so you found it best to avoid them.

However, you had just come back from a supply run, heading towards your tree home. In the grass (not the tall grass, of course, that was another danger that was best left unprovoked) was a poké ball, tilted on its side, wide open. The white part had a small crack in it, but for the most part it seemed in tact. You edged towards it, eyes narrowed in scrutiny, one hand hovering over the small sewing pin you carried as a make-shift sword.

The poké ball seemed empty and harmless, stepping closer to it confirmed it. Placing your hands on the plastic rim, you peered inwards, finding it empty. A closer look showed that the mechanisms inside seemed broken. You didn't have any experience with poké ball's, and weren't sure what a functional one looked like, but the cracks along the inside showed that it was definitely out of use. It probably couldn't even hold a pokémon if it tried.

You considered it for a brief moment, looking over it once more, before grinning. Your tree home was just a few feet away anyway, and you needed a new bed.

Tightening your grip on the open edge of the ball, you tugged it in the direction of your tree, finding the plastic easy to move, even at your size. The  poké ball was about the size of a baseball, and at your two inch height, it was easily twice as tall as you.

It didn't take long for you to come to your tree, you let go of the ball to run a sleeve over the sweat beading on your forehead.

The tree you chose to live in was a special one, but from a quick glance, no one could tell. Only when looking closer one could see that its roots didn't quite meet the ground entirely. There was a gap beneath the bottom of the tree and the ground, not big enough to notice, but big enough to make a home in. It kept you out of the rain, the thick roots left gaps too small for predators to get through, and there was enough room to keep all of your thins.

You took a brief moment to rest, glancing up at the sky. Dawn was breaking, and it'd probably be best to get home and asleep before the day started, bringing out trainers and pokémon out with the morning.

Reaching a hand to grab the rim of the poké ball again, you dragged it to a spot where the roots were rather high, and you began the arduous process of tugging it into your home. After a few minutes of struggling, you managed to get it under the roots, and inside. The 'ceiling' of your home was a lot higher than the low roots, so it was easy enough to maneuver the ball to a corner of your home, balancing it in a corner.

You allowed yourself a grin at the feat you just pulled off, smiling at the new addition to your home. Dropping your pin and your bag down by your new bed, you crossed over a few steps, hitting a button on a small flashlight you had picked up weeks ago. The light illuminated your home, making things a lot easier.

You had a small stockpile on one side of the room, filled with small bits of food, along with a few sets of extra clothes, an some 'weapons' (i.e., sewing pins and the occasional poisonous thorn shaped into a spear). Then there was your former bed, a pile of scraps of cloth, cozy enough but still on the hard ground. The poké ball would do wonders for your back, compared to the ground. There was the flashlight, a pocket knife, a few other knickknacks you had picked up over the ages. Your home was cozy enough, more than you could ever ask for. It wasn't much, but you were satisfied.

The exhaustion from gathering supplies all night hit you, you letting out a soft yawn. Borrowing, traveling, all of those necessary things, they were fun, adventurous, but exhausting.

You crossed over to your pile of blankets and took as many as you could in your arms, before turning to your new poké ball. You dropped a few of the thicker ones at the bottom, covering up the plastic and mesh, making almost a mattress of sorts out of the cloth scraps. You laid out the remaining blankets carefully, and then added the cotton balls you used as pillows.

Rolling your shoulders back to stretch a bit, you admired your work, before climbing into the ball. It was a little hard to find balance at first, but you found by tilting your weight back the ball leaned against part of the tree, balancing you evenly.

Slipping under the covers, you let out a sigh. This was an infinity better than sleeping on the ground, and all the thoughts you had of why pokémon were content to live in balls were dashed in an instant. Everything was cozy and warm, and your eyelids grew heavy with the weight of all the work you did throughout the night.

You belatedly realized that your flashlight was still on, but decided it wasn't worth getting up over. The light wasn't bright enough to draw attention to your secret home, especially to tall humans, in the daylight. It still was a little too bright to sleep with, so you reached up and grabbed the rim of the top half of the ball, lowering it to the base but not clasping it. It blocked out most of the light, leaving you in a cocoon of cozy, warm, darkness.

You curled up under your blankets, and in a few moments, you were fast asleep.

There was a glint of light coming from underneath the tree.

Archie, a man with people to see and places to go, generally wasn't distracted by such things, but this was an exception. It was barely dawn, he was tired, and in such a state one can't really ignore interesting things.

There was light coming from underneath a tree, and important duties could be pushed aside, he couldn't really pass up an intriguing situation such as this.

He crossed over to the tree quickly, making sure at least a third of his attention was on his surroundings, it wouldn't do good to get jumped on. He knelt down, cringing slightly at the fabric of his pants hitting the wet, dewy grass, before peering underneath the tree.

From the outside there seemed to be nothing outstanding about it, without the light coming from it he wouldn't have noticed the tree was different at all. But from his low point of view, he could see that the tree was elevated some, the roots disguising that fact.

In the small cave, of sorts, under the tree, there was a littering of lost items. Food some animal probably had squirreled away, a sewing pin, some coins.

The light source was a flashlight, the light bouncing off a perfectly good poké ball's plastic. They were both pretty far back, it was a reasonable assumption that some trainer had dropped the pair of them and decided it wasn't worth the trouble of trying to get it out.

Without the poké ball reflecting the flashlight's beam outward, it was likely Archie wouldn't have noticed the little spot at all.

There was a small crack in the white of the poké ball, but other than that it appeared perfectly fine. Considering that walking into a shop might give away something that would tip Maxie to his presence, and the fact that poké balls cost money, Archie wasn't really the type to buy them. Better to take and fix up old ones rather than drop some cash on a new one.

He snapped back some of the roots easily, making a space wide enough to reach his arm in. As he clasped his fingers around the poké ball he heard the clasp lock; given that it was open it was a reasonable assumption that it was empty. He took it out from under the tree and moved to rest back on his heels, giving the ball a quick glance over. Aside from the thin crack on the side of it, it seemed perfectly fine.

H didn't have the time to deal with a trainer's old pokémon or whatever surprise might be awaiting inside, so he decided to fiddle with it more later. Chances were it was empty, but Archie had a team to run and oceans to raise, so he carelessly dropped the ball into an empty pocket.

He decided to snatch the flashlight too, and with that, he was back on the trail again, the event merely a minor moment in his no doubt long day.

It was the snapping of roots that awoke you.

The loud cracking was almost like thunder to you; you jolted up into a sitting position the second the sound interrupted your sleep.

Clutching onto the blanket with white knuckled fists, you bit down on your lip to keep silent. With any luck, it was just some pokémon who got a whiff of your foot stash and wanted some. Whatever was prying into your home, alerting it to your presence wouldn't be a good thing.

For a moment things fell quiet, and for a moment you felt safe.

Suddenly your whole world was jolted, a loud clicking noise echoing around you as the poké ball was clasped shut, sealing you inside. There were thick fingers wrapped around it, blocking out the light of the flashlight.

The fingers were as big as you were, if not bigger. It was the first time you saw a human's hand up close, and it was utterly chilling how big it was.

Before you could contemplate how small you were, the hand jerked the ball out from under the tree, sending you tumbling. You scrambled to keep upright in the ball, stomach lurching as you were flung about inside of it.

Everything paused again, all that you heard was your heart pounding in your ears. You held your breath in expectation, unsure if the human was going to open the ball. Hopefully they would notice the crack in it and just leave you alone, but that was doubtful.

A moment later the ball was dropped, you being tumbled around with it. The ball made a surprisingly soft landing, landing in cloth, if you had to guess. Your heavy landing was softened a bit by your blankets, but you didn't even consider this as panic set in.

A moment later everything jostled about once more, before settling into a rhythmic pattern. There was the distant, echoing thud of footsteps, you and your prison swaying with each and every one of them.

Your heart pounded viciously, your breath was ragged, and you held onto your blankets like they were a lifeline.

You didn't know who had you or where they were going or what was going to happen when they found out, but you did know one thing: you were fucked.

Hours passed by. Time felt a bit endless in the ball, but it had to be longer than minutes, and it couldn't have been days.

Your panic had eventually subsided somewhat, and the soft swaying was almost calming. You even dozed off once or twice, before the memory of where you were startled you awake.

Eventually the soft footsteps on grass turned into crunching on gravel; this snapped you back into being alert. In the darkness all you could really rely on was sound, so you made sure to pay attention to every noise. Hopefully whenever the human got to their destination they'd set the poké ball aside, giving you an opportunity for escape.

After a few footsteps on gravel there was the sound of a door opening, then boots on floorboards. A few greetings sounded, and your heart nearly stopped. The idea of facing one human was terrifying enough,  you couldn't stomach the thought of meeting multiple.

Whomever's pocket you were in; he sounded a greeting in reply, authoritative but still showing a bit of friendliness to the others he was addressing. You felt a faint glimmer of hope, maybe he was friendly, would understand the whole mishap, and let you go.

You'd never met a human before, lessons from others your size and general common sense told you how bad an idea that was. There were nice humans, sure, but when someone was dozens of times your size it was far, far too much a gamble to risk revealing your presence. You were even shorter than most of your kind, barely two inches in height, but humanoid in ever other way.

You've heard your fair share of horror stories, all the ways humans could be horrid and terrible, and so you kept your distance. Despite all of that, you let yourself cling onto the hope that he could be friendly, because at the moment, hope was all you had.

After greetings were through there were more steps, more swaying, more greetings. Wherever you were seemed to have an awful lot of people, which would make escaping hard.

Eventually the man came to a stop again, the pocket you resided in swaying for a moment before stilling. You let out a sigh of relief; being still felt nice after the constant movement.

A chipper voice greeted the man, referring to him just as “Boss”. Wherever you were, apparently he was the one in charge.

The people in the room skipped the pleasantries and cut straight to talking about plans, and it didn't take even a minute for your hopes that the man might be friendly to be dashed away.

The poké ball and fabric muffled most of the conversation, but you did pick up bits and pieces.

A kidnapping of a scientist, a meteor, something involving the seas, and whatever was going on the man who's pocket you resided in was at the center of it.

A new wave of panic washed over you, sending a shudder down your spine. If he was the type to orchestrate theft and kidnappings, and things bigger, he probably wouldn't be the friendly type.

You tugged your knees up to your chest, screwing your eyes shut and trying to keep your breathing even. Panicking wasn't going to do you any good, but at the same time it seemed impossible to not have a breakdown.

You were so focused on keeping yourself calm that you hadn't even noticed the conversation ended until you were rocked into motion again, this time it sending you off balance. You let out a soft grunt as you were thrown against the plastic of the ball, cringing at the bruises left on your arm.

There was no way to predict where the man would go or what would happen next, but the fact that he stopped walking  just a few moments later did come as a surprise. There was the sound of a heavy door shutting, and him heaving a sigh, the motion sending you rocking slightly.

Given that he wasn't speaking to anyone, it was evident he was alone, and that made you tense up in expectation.

A moment later there was the faint flood of light, a small bit of light filtering through the plastic of the ball as the pocket was opened. Before you could brace yourself the man picked up the ball, crossing the room with you in hand. You could feel his every movement more than when in the pocket, although trying to see him through the thick plastic proved useless.

The ball landed heavily on something, a few other things clattering down with it. You held your breath in expectation, but a moment later there was the sound of footsteps receding. The sound of a door, and then silence.

You didn't dare move for several moments, unsure of what things were like outside of the poké ball. Staying in there would do you no good, because whomever had you would undoubtedly be checking the ball at some point. Weighing the pros and cons of leaving, you eventually decided getting out would be the best option.

Inside of the poké ball was dark, just small bits of light coming in from the crack in the top half. Using that, you managed to tilt the ball back a bit, shoving aside some of your blankets to find the clasp.

It was sealed tightly, but after a few chipped fingernails and some heavy pulling you managed to undo the clasp. Apparently something else entirely happened to pokémon while they were in the balls, because getting out was surprisingly easy for you. With the way you've seen trainers carry the pokémon around without incident, you expected it to be harder.

It was nothing to complain about however, and you risked propping the top open to peek out. However, the motion of opening the ball sent it off balance again, the open circle rolling to its side, sending you tumbling out of it.

You scrambled to get yourself untangled out of the blankets around you, finding yourself sitting on a dresser. There were items scattered here and there; your flashlight, a rather large anchor chain, a couple potions.

A quick glance around the room showed that it was a bedroom, and a rather nice one at that. You blinked several times, trying to get rid of your vertigo and get used to things at this large scale. Everything utterly dwarfed you, and it was more than a little intimidating.

Before you could stand to your feet, a sudden shadow was cast over you, and you froze. You managed to tear your eyes upwards, meeting a cocky grin and a pair of mischievous blue eyes.

“Well,” he said, deep voice shaking you down to your spine, “What have we here?”

His eyes flick off of you for a moment, landing on the open poké ball; his eyes narrowed slightly as he pieced things together.

Even if you weren't positively minuscule compared to him, you got the feeling that he'd still be more than a little threatening. His muscles, the way he held himself, the cocky tone in his voice, it all practically screamed authority.

You swallowed nervously, unable to tear your gaze from him. Chills went through you, you've always thought that meeting a human would be nerve-racking, but you didn't expect it to be so terrifying.

While his eyes were off of you, you made an attempt to edge back, wanting to put as much difference between him and you as possible.

There was a small flash of brown to your side, and as you moved back you felt your head hit something thick and warm. Ignoring how you were shaking, you tilted your head back to see what it was.

The man had moved his hand behind you, and he curled his massive fingers around your body slightly. They were as big as you were, if not bigger, and entirely dwarfed you.

“Not so fast,” the man stated, the slightest hint of something smug in his voice, as if he was amused that you thought he'd let you get away that fast.

Before you could think his hand shifted, grabbing you by the back of your shirt. He pinched it in two fingers and raised you up in the air, standing to his full height as he did so. He held you in front of his face, holding you close as he looked over you.

You flailed a little as you raised up, and despite your resolve your eyes looked downwards. You stilled the second you realized how long the fall was, and the fact that his two fingers on your shirt were the only thing keeping you from a long drop and a quick death.

Turning your eyes up from the fall, you found he had pulled you even closer, his blue eyes looking over you intently. He was looking at you like a rare find, something undiscovered, which you supposed you were. Under other circumstances, someone looking like him looking at you like that could be a compliment, but you were a tad too caught up in panic to even think of that. Still, you felt utterly pinned beneath his gaze, and blushed a little at your far, far too close proximity. There was nowhere to look other than his deep blue eyes or the deep fall below, so you screwed your eyes shut, deciding to keep your mouth shut as well. It wouldn't do any good to say something wrong and turn into another one of the horror stories borrowers told each other about humans.

The man laughed, a deep chuckle in his chest, the wind from his mouth making you sway slightly in his grip.

“Skittish little thing, aren't you?” he asked, moving you a bit back from his face. Apparently, he had a concept of personal space after all.

You risked opening your eyes again, biting on your lip anxiously. He tilted his head slightly, eyes still scrutinizing you, head to toe.

“What are you?” he asked, leaving no room to not speak anymore.

Deciding that not answering might make him mad, you attempted to ignore the way your throat was locked up, and spoke.

“I'm a p-person,” you stuttered out. People called you many things, borrowers, thumblings, tiny folk, but at the base of it you were just that, a person, just small. Besides, clearing the air as soon as possible and making sure he knew you weren't a pokémon or some toy was important, you were as much a person as he was, and despite your anxiety you wanted to make sure he knew that.

He quirked an eyebrow up.

“People aren't an inch tall, dearie,” he stated.

“W-well I a-am,” you replied, before muttering under your breath, “And it's two inches.”

The man tilted his head down to face you better, still taking in your appearance.

“And would you be so kind to tell me how and why you got into my base?” he ask. There was a slight undercurrent of firmness in his voice, sending a chill down your spine.

“I was sleeping in the poké ball,” you said, words tumbling out one after the other, “You grabbed me!”

The man nodded, accepting your answer. However, he made no motion to put you down, instead seemed to be more interested in you.

“Well, isn't that unfortunate,” he stated, in a tone that showed he didn't really think it was unfortunate ate all.

You took in a deep breath, something hard to do with him pulling on your shirt causing pressure on your chest, and looked up in his eyes.

“Look, just please let me go,” you pleaded, “It was an accident, you don't even have to bring me back to my home, just set me outside!”

The man paused in thought for a moment, before replying.

“Now why would I want to do that?” he asked, moving you a bit closer again. You swayed a little as the motion of his hand rocked you, you flailing your arms, wishing you had something to grab onto.

“I-I-I,” you stuttered out, not sure of what to say, “P-please don't.”

“Look, doll, I'm a busy man, I have things to do,” he stated, “However, even someone like me wouldn't pass up on someone like you. I've never seen anything like you before, you think I'm going to let you slip away that easy?”

Your breath came raggedly, your heart pounded in your chest. You were downright terrified, and shaking all over.

Suddenly a spark of resentment sounded, and the words slipped out before you could stop them.

“I'll tell someone,” you threatened, immediately panicking at the threat but not letting it show. If it was going to work you had to stick by it.

The man's eyebrows furrowed, his eyes narrowed, him sizing you up.

“The conversation earlier, about the scientist and the meteor, I heard it,” you stated, putting every ounce of energy into keeping your voice firm and even. Threatening someone dozens of times your size was a stupid move, but it was the only one you had. “I'll get out, I swear I will, and if you don't let me go I'll tell someone.”

It was a bluff, plain and simple. If he let you go, you'd get the hell away from him and any other humans as far as possible. However you attempted to seem resolute, not wavering an inch.

Something shifted in the man's expression, his careless cockiness turning into something a touch darker. A small chill shuddered through you, waiting in expectation.

“You're playing with forces you aren't ready to handle,” he said, jerking you closer to him.

You swallowed thickly.

“Let me go.”

He raised his other arm up, stepping closer to the dresser. There was the shuffling of glass and plastic, and you couldn't turn to see it due to the hold he had on your back.

A moment later, he dropped you.

A shriek ripped through your lungs as you were plummeted downwards, only for your fall to be muffled by a wadded up piece of cloth, a bandanna by the looks of it. You scrambled to your feet, wobbling on the uneven surface, before looking up.

You were in a jar, it far taller than you. The thought of climbing out of it seemed impossible, glass walls rose above you on all sides.

You spun around, hoping to see some weak point, something you could use to your advantage, but there was nothing at all.

You were knocked off balance again as the jar was raised up and twisted. You righted yourself into a sitting position, scooting back and pressing your back against the glass, as far from the man as possible. A quick glance upwards showed he had twisted on the lid with a few holes punctured in.

You looked up, meeting the man's gaze again, as he looked down at you, smug grin playing on his lips.

“You can't just k-k-keep me here!” you stuttered out, voice slightly muffled by the glass.

“Watch me,” he replied, before setting down the jar on the dresser.

He leaned in close, so his face, his deep blue eyes, was the only thing in your vision. You pressed yourself back into the glass further, wanting to be as far away as possible.

“My name's Archie,” he stated, before grinning at you like a shark would at a minnow, “And it looks like you're stuck with me, dear.”

[whatanauthorsgottado]

On the Beach

Archie and Maxie’s first meeting. First in the Environmentshipping Soulmate AU.

Maximilian didn't want to go to the beach. He hated the beach. There were always too many people around, and he always got a sunburn on his face and sand everywhere.

Not that his parents cared. They never really listened to him, barely interacted with him at all; his nanny was raising him more than they were, and probably doing a better job of it, at that.

Regardless, they were at the beach, and he had escaped the overprotective eye of his nanny and was currently walking up and down a little patch of sand surrounded by trees, muttering to himself.

"Not fair at all... I never get to pick where we get to go... Always Mother and Father, and they pick the worst spots... And they never listen to me at all, and it just isn't fair!"

"Who're ya talkin' to?" said a voice behind him suddenly, and Maximilian turned to find a dark-skinned boy sitting on a rock watching him.

As he met the other boy's dark eyes, he felt a sort of shock run through him. Instinctively, he looked down at his wrist and at the green-and-blue timer on it that had been there since birth. The blue part had ticked down to zero, and it was flashing every second.

"Oh! Hey! You're my soulmate!" Maximilian looked up to find the boy now standing in front of him, holding his arms out to his sides, open. "I'm Archie! Or Archibald, but only when I'm bad."

"Maximilian." He held his hand out for a handshake, like he had seen his father do at various functions, but the other boy brushed it aside and threw his arms around his narrow waist.

"That's hard to say. Can I call you something else?"

Maximilian was stunned by this boy, by his forthrightness and familiarity even though they had just met. Oddly enough, though he didn't like anyone else touching him, he didn't mind it when this boy hugged him. It made him feel warm and content, like he had just come home. He had never really felt like this before.

It occurred to him that the other boy was still waiting for an answer. "I... suppose. What do you want to call me?"

"How about... Maxie? Then our names rhyme!"

"Maxie... I like it."

"Good!" Archie released him, but took his hand instead. "I'm really glad to meet you, Maxie. I've been waiting to meet my first soulmate for a long time, and I'm glad it was you."

Maxie smiled. "I'm glad to meet you too."

Archie grinned widely and tugged on his hand. "I wanna show you something. Come on! There's a really cool spot where we can sit and talk!"

Maxie followed Archie through some trees to another little patch of beach. Archie started to wade out into the water, heading towards a flat rock probably twice as tall as he was that was a few metres out from the shore, but Maxie stopped.

"I can't swim that far," he said, eyeing the water nervously, though it was calm with few waves.

"It's okay, watch!" Archie waded out a little further, leaving Maxie behind on the sand. Maxie watched as the water reached to Archie's waist, but never got higher even as he continued to walk. He returned to Maxie and took his hand again. "The water here doesn't get deeper than my waist until past that rock over there." He indicated a slightly smaller rock past the one he had been pulling Maxie to earlier. "It's totally safe, promise. Me an' Shelly come out here a lot. Trust me."

"...Okay." Maxie allowed his soulmate to pull him along. He was a little nervous at first, but Archie was indeed right: the water never got higher than his waist, and it was quite warm, though not as warm as the air was. It was nice.

When they reached the rock, Archie clambered up onto the top, then helped Maxie to climb up using some little hand- and footholds in the sides. Once they were both comfortably situated on the rock, Archie pointed out to sea.

"See those little huts way out there?" Maxie squinted hard and finally caught sight of some brown lumps that were barely distinguishable from houses at this distance. "That's where I come from. Pacifidlog Town. It floats on the sea, and everyone who lives there swims everywhere." Archie puffed out his chest. "I swam all the way here this morning."

"This morning? You swam alone from there to here?" Maxie could hardly believe it. "You must be an amazing swimmer."

"O' course! Everyone in town is. We all swim on Route 133 - there's some real strong currents there. Most people get swept away, but not us."

"That's amazing."

Archie nodded. "Where do you come from, Maxie?"

"I live near Rustboro City. Just outside it in a big house on a hill. I don't like it much."

"Rustboro, huh? That's really far away, but maybe I can come visit you. I can probably swim that far. It might take me a couple days, but I could do it."

Maxie looked at him fondly. "I know you could."

Archie beamed.

They sat and talked for a long time – about everything from Maxie's classes and Archie's home-schooling to how Maxie's parents never seemed to listen to him.

"Well, you could always come with me! I could pull you all the way to Pacifidlog – you could ride on my back, like you were a Trainer using Surf!"

Maxie giggled at the image. Archie looked a little surprised, but grinned.

Maxie liked his grin. It was like the sun, bright and warm. Archie's face was so expressive, not like Maxie's parents – they were always hiding what they felt. It was very cold.

"I should," Maxie muttered. "My nanny is so mean, and my parents never listen to me at all. I bet I'd like it better with you in Pacifidlog."

"Then let's go! You should grab your stuff and we can go now! My family would love you!"

Maxie locked eyes with Archie and grinned. Archie shivered a little despite the sun's warmth on his back – he'd never seen a grin that mean-looking. He wondered if Maxie had learned the expression from his father.

Maxie leapt off the rock and splashed into the water, heading back for the main beach. Archie scrambled to follow.

Maxie and Archie stood behind a bush, watching Maxie's nanny search for him. She was standing between them and Maxie's bag, and Maxie couldn't see a way around her.

"What if I distract her?" Archie whispered. "I could run past her and pretend to steal something from her, and she'd run after me."

"That could work," Maxie said. "Run fast."

Archie winked. "No problem, buddy."

Archie took off, running towards Maxie's nanny. He led her on a merry chase around the beach. Maxie ran towards his bag – freedom was so close -

And then his father was standing in front of him. "Maximilian. It's time to leave."

"But father – I -"

"No buts. We're leaving now."

Maximilian's father took hold of his arm and pulled him away from the beach – away from Archie. Maxie struggled, reaching out towards his soulmate, trying to protest, to tell his father what they were leaving behind, but words wouldn't come out.

Meanwhile, Archie had been caught by the nanny, who was screeching at him. He ignored her, searching the beach for Maxie, to find him being dragged away by his father.

"Maxie!"

Maxie and Archie locked eyes, tears trailing down Maxie's face. He raised a hand towards Archie, and Archie raised a hand in return – but then Maxie was gone, and Archie was left on the beach, feeling cold and alone despite the other people there.