hardenshipping stuff

gay

Maxie sighed and dropped his pen onto the desk, defeated. he had very little inspiration to finish his work, and quite frankly, just wanted to sleep. of course, he couldn't do this, because it was due soon. he got up, stretched, and slowly left his office. he hasn't done this in... hours, at least. the grunts seemed just as tired as he was, and he wondered then what time it was, seeming as how the grunts around him normally were hustling about the base.
"Leader Maxie?" a familiar voice called. it was Courtney, most likely, but Maxie didn't bother to recognize the voice, due to his exhaustion. "hm?" he mumbled. Courtney audibly groaned a bit, and continued. "this is for you." she handed over a note to a half-awake Maxie. "this was given to me. it's from... someone in Team Aqua. it was most likely intended for you, boss." Maxie nodded and looked down at the note. he could barely see what was written, except for an A on the top right of the letter. he sighed. he figured that he would read it tomorrow, and walked back into his office, setting the paper on his desk. he didn't feel like sleeping that night, so he returned to the main room for coffee. he nearly drank the entire drink in one gulp, barely noticing the fact that it was almost gone. soon, he felt slightly less tuckered out, and went back to read the note. he picked up the note to see what was written, and was greeted with the name Archie written (not in the greatest handwriting, of course) on the top. he sighed. he hadn't talked to Archie ever since he had placed the blue orb back where it had belonged, and he thought that surely, Archie had a grudge against him because of all of the cruel things Maxie had said to his face during their rivalry. he shook his head and opened the note.
"to Maxie,
I want to apologize for the things I said then. I don't hate you or anythin, and i felt morally that you needed this since we're no longer on bad terms technically. if we could meet somewhere sometime maybe and sort everythin out, i'd feel a bit more content, but if ya hate my guts, then you don't have to.
sincerely, Archie"
Maxie was pleasantly surprised. Archie wasn't known to apologize to anyone he hated for as long as Maxie knew him, so he wasn't lying about not hating Maxie. and quite frankly, Maxie didn't hate him either. sure, he was more brawns than brain most of the time, but he was quite soft if you knew him well. Maxie, on the inside, missed this friendship, but could never admit this. after all, they were still on opposite teams with far different ideology. the only way Maxie could meet Archie was in secret, away from both team Aqua and Magma.
putting the note in a safe place, away from Courtney's nosey tendencies, he wrote a letter of his own to Archie, and planned to get a grunt to send it to Archie's base in Lilycove city. of course, he thought this could be risky due to his team's eavesdropping nature, but it was quite easy to figure out who Maxie was, even without his uniform on. the first option was the only one where no one would get beaten to shreds, and even the first idea could lead to more violence than necessary. he put the letter on his desk and went to lay down, wondering what he should do. he couldn't give it or Courtney or Tabitha, and couldn't trust himself to bring it to Archie... he shook his head and slowly dozed off.
When he woke up, he slowly got up and left the room, searching for more coffee. the brew here is okay, but not as good as Archie's.... he tried to wave the thought out of his mind as he drank the tasteless coffee down. his mind wandered back to the note, so he quickly threw his cup away and went back to his room. he folded the paper into an envelope, and closed it. he called one of his grunts over. "oh, yes sir?" the grunt stammered. Maxie handed him the note. "I want this delivered to The team Aqua base in Lilycove as soon as possible. not in your uniform, mind you, I don't want to cause suspicion. tell the receiver that it is meant for Archie." the grunt nodded and left the front of the room.
Maxie rubbed his temples, trying not to be nervous because of this, knowing that the "meeting" between them would be, at the very least, slightly uncomfortable for the both of them. he hoped that the letter would deliver in time, and he was sure it would, but regardless, worry still spiked in his mind. he tried to ease it off by writing the rest of his report, but it still stuck in every part of his brain that he eventually gave up and decided to wander around the base. grunts seemed just as tired as they were the night before, and everything looked the same as before. whether he was going to meet Archie or not, it would sure be nice to escape this boring hell of a base.
when 8PM arrived, Maxie reluctantly got out of his uniform and into normal clothing, and headed out from the base, not speaking a word to his grunts. he eventually made it over to the main part of the city, where he could just make out Archies body. he was, surprisingly, in normal clothing. he looked... so much different. once he got closer, he saw that of course, his hair was disheveled and his shirt not buttoned all the way, as is the Archie way. Maxie exhaled slowly and walked up to meet Archie for the first time in weeks.
Shelly waved at Maxie, not seeming to recognize who he was. Archie, turning around, immediately smiled at him and dismissed Shelly.
"Heya, Maxie!"
"hello, Archie."
Maxie looked down, wondering if he should apologize now or wait. he sighed and looked back up at a smiling Archie.
"Archie... I'm sorry."
Archie looked confused. "for what?"
"for... everything I did then. i don't know why I acted like that to you."
Archie sighed, holding a weaker grin. "it's alright. our rivalry... got a bit out of hand at times, y'know?" Maxie nodded.
"plus," Archie continued on, "I know you don't mean it now. I mean, if you hated me that much, you wouldn't 'ave met with me here." it was true. Maxie didn't hate Archie in the slightest, in fact, he quite liked his company. even if he was a bit of a brag, he was sweet to everyone he appreciated.
"yes... I don't hate you. but..." Maxie trailed off. Archie gave him a puzzled stare, and Maxie shook his head. "we had a quarrel then, and it's best that we don't ponder on the past any longer." Archie nodded in agreement. "yeah. also, have you gotten better? I mean, you looked pretty damn hurt from when we put the orbs back." Maxie looked to himself. he was doing better healing-wise, physically anyway. he wasn't sure if he was any better mentally, but he told this to no one. "yes, I am." he looked to his shoes, "thank you for asking." Archie smiled. "why don't we go inside? surely it isn't nearly as cold in there."
"yes. please." Maxie was practically shaking from how cold and nervous he was, but managed to keep this under wraps. Hoenn had gotten a lot colder after the orbs were put into place. they both walked inside and sat down, Archie chatting away at what was happening in his base. he said it in a way where it didn't seem as boring as it actually was, and Maxie enjoyed it. after all, it was certainly more pleasing than being alone in the base. it seemed as though Archie had been here many times before, recommending Maxie food he thought he would like, and chatting with another waitress, who seemed to know him well. Maxie remembered how much of a talker Archie was, and just gave a small smile watching Archie be happy and chatting as normal. Maxie didn't know how, but Archie's presence just made him feel somewhat happier. of course, he couldn't say this to him, but it was just something that Maxie had noticed after a while into his stay at the restaurant.
"anythin' interesting goin' on at your place? everything is too borin' at mine."
Maxie shook his head. "we're just as boring as your residence is. nothing special ever seems to happen anymore." Archie smiles and rolls his eyes. "I expected." he continued to chomp down his food. Maxie wasn't as hungry as he originally thought he was so, he simply just watched Archie and the time pass by on the clock. Maxie couldn't help but think that he was... somewhat... cute? he desperately internally tried to think about something else, but the thought was stuck in his mind, and it made his face hotten a little. it was annoying.
"Are you wearin' seven layers of clothin' again, Maxie..." he glared at Maxie's face.
"I'm only wearing two layers, Archie." he said sternly. "then why is yer face so damn red? are ya sick or somethin'?" Archie asked this with a bit of concern. Maxie almost felt sick. the nervousness wracking his brain was making his face melt. "...maybe?" Maxie muttered. Archie sighed. "if you feel sick, you need t'go." his face had a somewhat sad expression on it. Maxie didn't know how to respond. luckily, no one had noticed this interaction between him and Archie, so he attempted to calm down. "i don't know whether I feel good or not, Archie, but I should be fine." he groaned. Archie shook his head and smiled a bit, "I don't wanna get sick too, and it's runnin' late. I can tell you snuck out of yer own base." Archie got up and left to go pay the receptionist (the total included Maxie's drink), walked outside with Maxie.
"thanks for spendin' time with me, Maxie." he smiled. Maxie smiled weakly back. "you're welcome." they walked in opposite directions back to their bases.
thoughts swarmed Maxie's head as soon as he got into his office. why did he feel this... emotion? what did it mean? because to Maxie, they were just barely friends. he didn't understand why he felt such a fierce happiness whenever he was around Archie. for as long as he's known him, even during their rivalry, Archie has just radiated... happiness. whether it was in a sweet sense or a competitive one, he never treated anyone too harshly. he might not be the smartest, but he was sensible. he had grown a lot ever since the last time they had met weeks ago, and the glee Maxie felt spending time with him for once was... confusing. just weeks ago, he was convinced he hated Archie. and he acted like it too. of course, Maxie was sure they were just friends, but something about their bond always seemed so much different from his bond with anyone else. he always felt so comfortable around Archie now and before their rivalry (if not a bit awkward, now), and Archie seemed to be the same way. with everyone else, he felt included, but not.... safe, like he does now with Archie. Archie's comfortable words and caring actions always made Maxie feel... safe. it felt so wrong to him. he didn't understand it at all, but it was nice for a change for once. he sighed, and rolled over to sleep, trying to forget his thoughts so he could actually get some rest for once. eventually, he began to rest, his mind wandering as it fell into sleep.