The low drone of the television filled the room like the buzzing of several Beedrills—obnoxious, useless, and simply there. The television was also the only source of light, piercing through the shadows and flashing a multitude of colors against the dark red sofa, one second the walls colored with ivory and gold, the next moment they were splashed with bright yellow and blue. All night had this been going on, the constant changing images on the television screen, the empty, canned laughter that would filter from it and the melodramatic gasps that, too, would snake their way out into the air. The channel would never be the same—one minute, it was Pokemon Daily News, and the next second his eyes were fixated on the latest happenings on Luvdisc Day.
His mind drowsily flickered to the soap operas his mother used to watch as one of the leading ladies wept at the bedside of her dying lover in some hospital, the doctor grimly standing back and giving some cheesy one-liner. He didn't bother listening. He had been tuned out to everything since he had begun his slow spiral into television madness five hours ago.

At nine p.m., Maxie had gone to bed.
At ten p.m. on the dot, after a good, solid hour of tossing, turning, and finding himself more and more restless, he got up to begin a routine that had been kickstarted that Monday. It was now Friday. He was losing his mind.

Eyelids heavy yet his mind resisting sleep, no matter how much he begged and pleaded for some sliver of rest, his thumb shifted over the channel button on the remote, pressing down.
The image of the doctor reaching out to touch the woman's shoulder changed to some late-night comedy. Canned laughter from a fake audience drilled into his ears, mocking him, and Maxie gritted his teeth.
"It isn't my fault I can't sleep!" he snapped at the television screen, hucking the remote at it. It fell about an inch short—which was probably a good thing, for he didn't really want to buy himself a new television set.
The laughter from the show only intensified, however, and the redhead pulled himself back against the couch defensively. His legs had been drawn up to his chest already, though now they drew themselves even tighter to himself, as though contemplating springing forward and fleeing the room.

Instead, his body sagged in defeat, eyes drifting down to stare gloomily at the floor.

In total, he had acquired approximately five hours total of sleep that week. He could barely focus in the day—not that it mattered, Team Magma had been disbanded for some time and he had nothing better to do than lounge around the house—and nighttimes were dull and sometimes even painful. His bed was a place of torment and he had begun to use the couch more than his own bed. He had hoped that staring at the television screen, watching the boring, mundane shows that were on would eventually lull him into sleep.
Instead, he was trapped, left with terrible late night television as he desperately sought out some relief that refused to come.

Thumping his head back against the couch, he closed his eyes. His body felt as heavy as leads and his brain sluggish, taking far longer than usual to process anything.
He even looked haggard, with his eyes rimmed faintly with red from his lack of sleep, eyelids constantly sitting heavy, and everything about him reading 'exhaustion'.
Why he hadn't been able to just pass out from lack of sleep, he was uncertain.
Perhaps this was some way of making him pay back for trying to revive Groudon.
He had returned the orbs with Archie and given up any and all plans, turning to living alone, and in hiding, for the remainder of his days.
No more fighting for the expansion of land.
But apparently he had not paid enough.

Groaning, he wished he hadn't thrown the remote, for the television show was getting more and more obnoxious. And was what that horrible rattling noise coming from it?
Hissing, Maxie thumped entirely down onto the couch, grabbing the closest cushion and covering his ears with it.
"I'm going to go insane," he moaned in despair to himself, only to pause. The rattling stopped.
Cautiously, he peered towards the television. The show was on a commercial break, a vibrant advertisement for Kalos Pokepuffs dancing across the screen.
It was logical that the rattling stopped, since it had been coming from the TV show. But as he considered it, the rattling had seemed too loud to be coming from the television. His volume wasn't that high. In fact, it was quite low—he could barely even pick up what they were saying at times.

"What're we watching, Maxie-Max?"

Maxie practically leapt out of his own skin, having not sensed the couch sinking with new weight—he must have been tired to not notice all that bulk added on—and was now only putting it together that oh, hey, that rattling sound had been an intruder getting into his house. Jerking upright, grabbing firm hold of the pillow he had been using to muffle the sounds of the TV, Maxie flung it at the intruder while all in the same motion trying to get off the couch and to some place of safety.
Judging by the low 'thump' and the grunt of surprise, his pillow had hit its target.
A good thing, for he was already halfway off the couch within those short few seconds, and freedom was within reach—but apparently, he was also within reach, his torso grabbed onto and the wind knocked out of him as he was yanked back harshly, Maxie yelping with what little air lingered in his lungs.

"Unhand me!" wheezed Maxie, clawing at his attacker. "I swear, when I get to my pokemon, I'm going to have you ripped in half—"
A hand slapped over his mouth, Maxie grimacing at the feel of calloused skin rubbing against his lips.
"Now that I have your attention and you aren't running away—fucking OW!"
Maxie had sunk his teeth into offensive hand clutching onto him, feeling blood trickle into his mouth from just how hard he had bit down. Freed, if not only partially as the hand over his mouth whipped away in pain, Maxie twisted around to try and get a look at his assailant, blood still clinging to his lower lip.
"If you don't let me go this instant," Maxie began, only to pause, confused. "… What the hell are you doing in my house, Archie?"
Nursing his injured hand, Archie looked quite stung that Maxie, so insistent on escaping him, had bit him, of all things.
Bit him!
"You bit me," Archie sputtered, still staring at his bleeding hand. Maxie didn't seem too sympathetic. "I told you to let go and you didn't. Now answer my question, Archie."

Looking outright stung, and perhaps a little bit in pain, Archie's grip loosened on Maxie until it was practically nonexistent, too busy tending to his still-bleeding hand to care about holding onto the redhead.
"Thought I'd drop by and say hello."
"It's midnight."
"The lights were on?"
"The only light on is the TV, and you can't see it from outside."
Archie pursed his lips as he tried fishing around for a better excuse, Maxie's patience wearing thinner by the minute.
"I swear to god, Archie, if you don't give me an answer in two seconds—"
"I had a bad run-in with Shelly, okay? Y'know how tense things got with the teams ever since we disbanded, and I needed some place to hide out until she cooled off."
Archie looked sheepish.
"She doesn't know where you live. And, uh, I've come here and stolen stuff before, so…"

Maxie was silent, no longer squirming and determined to escape, but he suddenly snapped back, growling, "You were the one who came and took all my paperwork?! I had BILLS in there—what were you going to do with those?!"
Archie shrugged helplessly.
"I just grabbed what I could before I left. I wasn't thinking, I guess."
Left in silence as Maxie brewed, Archie was careful not to say anything else, knowing he was already testing his patience just by being there.
Surprisingly, Maxie was still hefted up on his lap due to him dragging him back onto the couch. Archie was astounded he hadn't made a big deal out of it yet, or hadn't tried getting up and escaping once more.

As though reading his thoughts, Maxie was back on his feet, Archie still wallowing in self pity as the redhead went over to the TV, turning it off before reaching out to turn on the actual lights.
Blinking for a moment, his eyes stinging from the sudden light, Maxie tried to ignore the temptation to crawl back onto the couch and simply lay there as he went to grab onto Archie's shoulder.
"C'mon, I have bandages," he huffed, Archie looking at him sullenly, as though he had been anticipating some form of sympathy. The sympathy he got was a dirty look and so quickly did he get to his feet and follow Maxie obediently, taking his time with looking around the house while Maxie guided him to the bathroom.

Digging around in the cabinets for the little first aid kit he kept around, he found it, setting it on the counter.
"Let me see your hand," demanded Maxie, Archie frowning as he complied. "Could be a bit nicer about it, since you were the one who thought biting me was a good idea," he grumbled, ignored as Maxie wiped off the blood with one of his washcloths and found a suitable bandage for the cut. It wasn't that bad and wasn't even that deep—it looked like it just hit a vein, hence why it was bleeding so profoundly.
"… You look like shit."
Pausing, Maxie looked up, leering at him.
"Thanks. I really needed to hear that," he snapped, Archie holding up both hands now that he had been all bandaged up.
"Just being honest. You look like you haven't slept in days."

The first aid kit clicked shut, Maxie putting it back in its designated spot in his cabinet as he grunted, "I haven't. That's why I'm awake right now. Which I guess is a good thing, since who knows what you'd do if I was asleep…"
Flicking off the bathroom light as he headed back out into the hall, he was closely trailed by Archie. He could practically feel him breathing down his neck, even, which was enough to make him send a warning glare back behind himself.

"Why haven't you been sleeping?"
"Because I can't."
"Why not?"
"Do you think I'd be awake right now if I knew?!"

Shutting his mouth as Maxie looked nigh upon biting him again—would he really dare?—Archie flopped back onto the couch, looking up at Maxie.
"Have you tried everything already?"
Maxie, cautious about sitting next to his former rival, eventually sat down, if not begrudgingly. They haven't truly fought in about a year since both of their teams had been disbanded, catching fleeting glimpses of one another. He hadn't truly interacted with Archie since they had taken the orbs back to Mt. Pyre.
Their former hatred for one another, to say the least, had pretty much dissipated. Maxie still found Archie annoying as all hell, but at least there was no more jabber of land expansion and sea expansion.

"Yes, I have tried everything. I haven't just been sitting here on the couch staring at the television screen since Monday hoping that I'll just pass out."
Well, he'd been doing that since Thursday. But Archie didn't need to know that.
"Monday? You've been awake since Monday?"
Eyes widened and mouth slightly agape at the idea of being awake for nearly a week long. Archie wondered how Maxie wasn't passed out on the floor.
"Did I stutter or something?" Maxie hissed, trying to keep from snarling, even if the temptation was strong. His temper was already short and Archie was making it grow shorter yet, gawking at him as if it was unfathomable that someone just couldn't sleep.
Maybe he was developing insomnia.
That was also a possible thought.

"What are you doing out of bed, then? You should be trying to sleep!" proclaimed Archie in an all-knowing fashion, Maxie giving him an unamused look. "You have to be joking, I've already—what is with you and grabbing me?!"
From comfortably settled on his couch, Archie was back to latching onto Maxie, this time hefting him up into the air as though he were as light as a feather.
Squawking in disapproval, thrown over Archie's shoulder like a sack of potatoes, Maxie was not in any way happy with how carelessly he was being handled.
"If you drop me," Maxie began to threaten, pausing when seeing how easily Archie was moving through his house. "… How much of my house have you been through?"
Archie paused, blinking, and then tentatively glanced up at Maxie.
"Uhh… A lot?"
"I do not regret biting you at all."

Pouting faintly as he knocked open Maxie's bedroom door—Maxie was looking unpleased with this entire scenario—Archie proceeded to dump the redhead onto his bed and flop down himself, sitting at the edge.
"Try to sleep now," he encouraged, Maxie staring at him, baffled.
"For one, the living room light is still on and that should be turned off, and secondly, I'm not just going to magically fall asleep with you staring at me."
Archie, frowning as he puzzled over the dilemma which was Maxie's incapability of sleeping, stared long and hard at the redhead without speaking.
"… You're starting to creep me out," Maxie muttered as he scooted back some on his bed, pushing himself up against the pillows to get some space between himself and Archie's intensely-watching eyes.
"Maybe you aren't comfortable enough?" Archie suddenly suggested, apparently not hearing Maxie's statement.

Unconvinced, Maxie watched as Archie got up, kicking off his shoes.
"What are you doing?"
"You'll see."
"No, no, I'd rather know now."
Archie only ignored him, unsettling Maxie even further as he took off his coat.
"Why aren't you wearing a shirt?"
"Why does it matter?"
"You really should wear a shirt under your coat. It's… It's unsanitary."
The two glared at one another for a moment, Maxie on edge as it was with Archie's sudden decision to be taking off his shoes and coat.
"I swear, if you take off anything else, I'm kicking you out," Maxie warned, grimacing as Archie thumped back down onto the bed. "I'm done," he reassured the redhead, who still looked suspicious.
"What do you think you're even doing?"

Archie's lack of immediate response was enough to make Maxie try and press himself further against the pillows, not liking how he was so close now.
"Helping you sleep," was the reply he got, and now Archie was entirely on the bed, not just sitting, and-
"You should go, you should definitely go, I'm sure Shelly is quite ready to apologize now for her behavior," Maxie quickly started, discovering he had no more room to escape without falling off the bed as Archie crawled towards him, the short distance between them closed easily.
"Since you've been so kind to let me stay the night—"
"I never said you could stay!"
"—I'm going to help you go to sleep."
An arm hooked around his waist, Maxie grimacing as he was dragged with little effort to Archie.

"I feel more like calling the cops than sleeping," he informed Archie harshly, looking nervous as the blankets were thrown out from beneath them and then tugged back over them both. "You're going to try something," Maxie stated with certainty, feeling his skin crawl with just how close they were—god, what was Archie thinking?
His back was pressed flush against Archie's chest and he could feel him breathing, though, it was strangely… Soothing.
The rhythm was something absent from the long week of irregularity, of getting up constantly, of tossing and turning.
"You haven't managed to try everything yet, so I'm giving you another thing to try," Archie excused himself, nestling his cheek in the crook of Maxie's neck.
His beard scratched his skin, Maxie shuddering.
"We're still kind of rivals."
"No we're not."
"This is very homoerotic."
"I'm doing a perfectly platonic thing—helping you sleep. Nothing else."

Maxie would have glared back at Archie if he had been able to contort his neck in that fashion, sincerely doubting this to be 'platonic', but rather Archie fulfilling some sick fantasy of his that he had developed during their absence of one another.
Yet, again did he feel soothed by the sound and feel of Archie's slow, relaxed breathing, even feeling his eyelids sinking lower.
"You're an idiot," mumbled Maxie, eyes finally shutting. He could feel Archie chuckle, feel it rumble in his chest, and he shivered just from the close proximity.
"The idiot who is gonna get you to fall asleep for the first time in a week."
There was the temptation to argue and bicker with him over this, to stubbornly remain awake to defy him, but Maxie could feel his mind drifting.

He could swear, just before dozing off, he felt lips brush against his cheek and a word of affection hummed into his ear.
"G'night, Maxie."