"Come on, just tell me where it is! O-or give me a hint. . . or two. . ." Archie whined.
"No." Maxie adjusted the pillow on the sofa before pulling the rest of his body on and resting his head on it.
"No, no, no, don't take a nap!"
It was too late, the grouchy red-head already had his blanket pulled over his scrawny form. Archie knew better than to snatch it off of him if he wanted to find the birthday present Maxie hid somewhere in the house. He had searched everywhere and the anxiety was starting to get to him.
"Please get up and tell me where it is, I'm beggin' you! Quit ignorin' me!"
When Maxie let out a long sigh, Archie took a few steps back to give him some space before he got yelled at. "If I give you a hint will you leave me alone for now?" Maxie asked through gritted teeth, Archie nodded vigorously.
"It's in. . . something else, there, now go." Before Archie could even complain about how vague the hint was, the red-head had already turned his back towards him.
Now it was Archie's turn to sigh, "In something else, huh?"
The wheels started to turn in his head, which was something that didn't happen too often. He began thinking of all the places he hadn't searched that the present could be in. The suitcases, dressers, cupboards, and under the bed and sofas had all been scoped out that morning. One thing he did find was his old treasure chest that Shelly gave him when Team Aqua first started. It couldn't have been in there because he lost the key about a year ago, after he and Maxie moved in together.
A long groan escaped his mouth as he laid himself out on the floor. Maxie probably would have scolded him and called him childish, but he wasn't looking at the moment. He studied the sleeping man for a long time, hoping that somehow Maxie could feel his stare in his sleep. Today would be his first birthday with Maxie and the man only gave him bad nerves and a few angry glares.
"Might as well find a way to entertain myself until he wakes up." Archie muttered under his breath. As he got up and reached for the remote, he noticed something strange about Maxie, something that he was wearing. Is that a necklace? Who the hell gave him that? He thought before silently crawling over to him.
Maxie's hair was pulled back, which made it a bit easier to see the leather string around the back of his neck. The rest of the string disappeared down his shirt and made Archie even more curious. Taking a deep breath, he slowly and quietly tugged the back of the string towards him, keeping a close eye on the end so he wouldn't accidentally choke or wake Maxie with it. The last thing he wanted was to die on his birthday.
When the charm came into view, Archie couldn't believe his eyes.
It was the key to his treasure chest.
Thankfully the necklace was big enough to pull over his head. He gently lifted the front part of the necklace over Maxie's face and looped the rest over the back of his head. As quickly as he could, he jogged down the hall back to their bedroom, too excited to notice the little smile that crept onto Maxie's face.
When he entered the room, he dug around under the bed for the chest and quickly dragged it out. The key fit perfectly into the hole and when the lock clicked, he flung it open with a happy grunt.
His heart sank a little when he saw that everything in there hadn't moved an inch from where it was all those years ago. His books about different water Pokémon, sunken ships, and famous captains were still snug in the corner the way they were before. Various pictures he took with Shelly and Matt and the rest of Team Aqua were stacked one on top of the other, just like he had left them. His bandana, flag, and a Team Aqua pokeball that one of the grunts made for him were still in tact.
When he went to move the bandana, his fingers brushed against something smooth and cold. He placed the bandana off to the side and held up what was at the bottom.
A ship in a bottle.
The ship was very detailed, from the torn parts of the flag, to the nicks and scratches in the dark wood, to the beautiful figurehead carved into the ship. However, he never remembered owning one of these, and he's only complained to one person about having one since he's screwed so many up in the past. That person was Maxie.
A tiny note hung loosely from the rim of the bottle with a thin, black, elastic string. He held it up and it read:
To the captain of the S.S. Man-Child.
He turned it over and read the back:
Happy 34th, babe.