We Close Our Eyes

Chapter 3 - Rocky, Rocky Recovery

 The night was full of tosses and turns. Maxie's pain from his head had been almost completely eased by a mix of painkillers and bedrest. The homely smell of Archie's bed was comforting in itself, though the excitement of emotions made it near impossible for Maxie to fall asleep properly. He spent hours eyeing different things around Archie's room, further intrigued by the man's personal life. He hadn't been in Archie's home in a very long time, and it was oddly charming to recognize some of the same belongings, even after a few decades.

Sunlight eventually crept through the blinds, and the soft chatter of tweeting Taillows announced dawn once more. Maxie let out a brief stretch and scrolled on his Rotom phone for a bit.

A soft knock on the door alerted the redhead.

"Max? You alive?"

"Yes, Archie," he responded, appreciative of the pirate's concern.

Archie calmly walked into the room, and to Maxie's surprise, completely shirtless – in fact, with nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Poorly. He had clearly just gotten out of the shower, nor did he seem to have much shame about it. The sight of the pirate's body basking in the morning light was enough to work Maxie up. At that moment, he was very grateful that a blanket was still covering him from the waist and below.

"How is yer head doing? Feel any better?" Archie chimed, seemingly already picking up on the elevation in Maxie's health.

"Yeah... I think so. I really am thankful for the hospitality."

"Well, I'm glad to hear. Matt made breakfast, although..." Archie leaned in and lowered his voice to a whisper... "I don't think I'd recommend it." He winked and firmly patted Maxie's back. Maxie shuddered with anticipation.

"I'll take your word for it."

"Did ya sleep okay? Sorry my room's a mess, I wasn't exactly expectin' any visitors," Archie grinned, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Oh, yes, I slept fine. I mean, not fine, good. I slept good. Err, well. Well. I slept well..." Maxie fumbled with his words, still trying to retain his composure over the half naked man within close vicinity.

"That's great to hear," Archie started, taking a seat on the foot of the bed near Maxie. As he sat down, the weight of his body tugged the covers off of Maxie... rather prematurely. "I think I'm gonna hit the coast today," Archie continued as Maxie panicked and attempted to pull the covers back over his waist to cover his "excitement".

"Got any plans..." The tugging on the covers caught Archie's attention. He paused at the sight of Maxie's now-prominent erection. No adjusting or covering could conceal his considerable size.

"...for the weekend?"

Archie's expression twisted slightly. The deep silence in the room was suffocating. Fuck.

"I... Um..." Maxie was desperate to salvage the situation, piercing embarrassment shooting down his spine. "Sorry, I just... woke up..."

Archie looked away.

"It's okay, man. Shit happens." For some reason, his tone didn't match his words by even the slightest.

It had been over 15 years since Archie had seen Maxie's... excitement. And it sure as hell wasn't in the plan to see it anytime soon.

Without a word, Archie got up and left the room. Had Maxie just completely ruined his already-rocky friendship with Archie? Was it even a friendship to begin with? Or was it greater? Less? With too many questions to keep track of, Maxie hurriedly got up and set out to gather his belongings. There was not much else he could do to rescue his pride besides leaving.