Broken Bridges

by Zombiebrainz

finally maxie and archie are a couple like god how long was it gonna take. it's been awhile aqua and magma have been running amok, too, so life is pretty average. except archie's old crew is missin' their former boss and wanna have a reunion. and might not be too chill with the idea that he's hooked up with a dude they all wanted dead.

Ding-dong.
The low chime of the doorbell echoed throughout the house, a familiar and unwelcome sound. It had been chiming every morning by this point and as any typical couple might do, it had become a routine to trade off every morning. One person would sacrifice their sleep and get up to answer the door, while the other would gradually rouse and join their companion at the front to what new delivery had come to the door, what new piece of furniture or kitchen utensil would be added to their recently bought home.

"It's your turn to get the doorbell."
Archie wanted to groan as Maxie's low, groggy mutter reached him, closing his eyes a bit tighter as he tried to ignore the pattern that they had inevitably set up with visitation becoming more of a common thing.
"Maybe if we ignore it, it'll go away," mumbled Archie hopefully, cracking open an eye. The room was dimmed, the curtains drawn over the windows, and as his vision cleared and became sharp, his eyes trailed to the alarm clock on Maxie's side of the bed.
"It's seven a.m., I'm not gettin' up."
Squinting at the time, he promptly closed his eyes, his arm wrapping around Maxie and his face burying itself in the other man's neck.

Ding-dong.

"Archie," groaned Maxie in exasperation, one of his hands lifting up, pushing lightly at the other man's chest.
"Get up already…"
Heaving a melodramatic sigh, Archie sat up, running a hand through his sleep-messed black hair.
"You owe me," Archie growled, Maxie responding by grabbing the blankets and dragging them over his head. Pouting somewhat, begrudgingly did he get out of the warm, comfortable bed and go to find clothes.

Throwing on whatever he found—an old T-shirt that advertised some rock band, a pair of sweats with the heels frayed—Archie quietly closed the door behind himself as he yawned, rubbing sleep from his eyes as he padded down the carpeted hallway. There was no necessity to open his eyes as he navigated through the familiar house and to the front door, suppressing another yawn as his hand reached out, fumbled with the doorway, and then opened it.
"Good mornin'!"
Archie blinked sleepily as he stared at Matt's beaming face—he was too awake this early in the morning—and didn't respond, which apparently was a cue for him to keep talking.

"Shelly 'n the others have been plannin' a party for awhile, Archie, just to get the old crew together after being disbanded for so long…"
Matt's look turned to panic as Archie narrowed his eyes slightly in disapproval, the once-Aqua admin throwing up his hands as a white flag.
"N-not to try and get it all back together! We're all through with that Kyogre stuff, but uh, we still miss that dynamic we all had and it'd be nice to actually be able to talk to ya again and…"
Matt trailed off, focusing on the doorbell as he tried to come up with a better list of reasons to offer Archie to convince him to come to the party, not hearing the soft footsteps coming up through the house until a voice inquired, "Who's at the door, Archie?"

Peering back up, Matt caught a glimpse of panic on Archie's face before seeing an even more familiar man leaning up against him, cheek resting on his shoulder.
Blinking groggily, still bogged down with sleep and not having his glasses on hand, Maxie's vision was a bit out of focus, but as he looked up at who they had at their front door, he tensed, lips thinning.
"… U-uh, m-maybe I should come back another time—" Matt began to sputter, taking a step back until Archie leaned forward, seizing him by his wrist as he growled, "No, stay awhile, come inside—we have a lot to talk about—"
Matt glimpsed one last time behind him to freedom as he was dragged indoors, the door slamming shut behind him.

"You haven't talked to us in a year and in the meantime you managed to hook up with… with… him?!"
Matt was in a state of disbelief as he sat across from the apparent couple of Maxie and Archie, gesturing in shock to Maxie as he spoke.
Maxie's appearance described the very meaning of uncomfortable as he sat stiff and rigid next to Archie, who was somewhat slouched, obviously not caring of the opinion of a man he had one considered his right hand back in the days of Team Aqua.
"Most everyone from Aqua was still bitter about the Kyogre thing and I didn't want to deal with that," Archie dismissively replied, shrugging. "And, uh, well, Maxie and I happened to bump back into each other last year and things just happened—"
"Just happened?"

Matt threw up his hands in disbelief and Maxie's facial expression was darkening, Archie now growing nervous as he looked over at his boyfriend. Over the year they had been dating, Archie had seen the redhead become truly angry once or twice—his face darkening, teeth clenching, and overall body language tense and agitated. During their arguments he only ever seemed frustrated, rarely ever angry, and now, he was obviously discontent with Matt's exasperation with it all.
"I mean, Archie, maybe you had a rough time with Shelly after that one night—"
"Enough."
Matt flinched, looking over at Maxie for the first time since he had begun ranting at Archie, wanting to shrivel up into the chair he was sitting in when seeing his vicious look.

"You are within our household right now, and if you want to have that opinion, fine. But you can leave now if you can't even talk about it."
Matt frowned at Maxie's cutting words, slowly reaching up and taking off the blue bandana he was wearing. Some things just never changed.
Wringing it in his hands anxiously, he stared at the floor for a moment before peering up, looking apologetic.
"… 'm sorry, I just… I guess my nerves are still raw from… everything."
Matt pursed his lips before sighing, shaking his head.
"I'll… try to be more sensitive 'bout it. Guess I'm not keepin' an open mind, even after all this time."
He offered Maxie a wary smile, getting only a cold look back.
Swallowing, his throat dry, he glanced back to Archie, who seemed more concerned with Maxie, sitting back upright as he rubbed the redhead's back soothingly.
"I'm sorry," Matt tried again, his bandana almost non-existent in his hands he had wrung it so tight. "M-maybe this thing'll need time, I mean… It is kinda out of the blue, y'know?"

Archie wanted to groan as Matt kept helplessly babbling, looking over at him.
"You can stop diggin' yourself a deeper hole now, Matt."
Matt's face turned red with humiliation, his head ducking back down.
"S-sorry," he mumbled, his hand rubbing the back of his head as he tried to think of a better way to phrase things.
"… I'll just be goin' now. I'm only makin' things worse and can't think of anythin' to make it any better."
Standing up, Matt paused, awkwardly stepping in front of Archie.
"But, first…"

He dug out a scrap of paper out of his pocket that obviously had suffered some abuse during the travel there, offering it to Archie, who slowly took it.
"If you're still interested, I wrote down all the party info on there," sheepishly Matt told him, Archie's eyes scanning over Matt's chicken scratch. "… I won't go without—" Archie began, Matt cutting in abruptly, sounding flustered.
"M-Maxie's more than welcome, boss! Uh, I mean, Archie. But uh, I'm sure everyone'll warm up to him… Or at least, they'll have to."
Matt could feel Maxie's eyes burning into him, and when he glanced back, a chill ran up his spine at the death stare he was getting.
"W-well, I'll be goin' now!" sputtered Matt, stumbling off to the door.
"Nice seein' ya again, Archie, uh, have a g'day—and you too, Maxie."

Archie listened to the front door open and slam shut, swathed in silence since they had originally gotten up two hours ago. His shoulders sagged and he balled up the scrap of paper, growling as he threw it, watching it land in the conjoining kitchen.
"I'm not going to that stupid party," he hissed, glowering in the direction he had thrown the paper. "Not after that…"
Perhaps it was his fault for not maintaining contact with them, but he never could think of a way to introduce himself and Maxie as a couple to the hodgepodge group he had become companions with during the time of Team Aqua.

Hello, yes, remember this guy we all wanted to murder for the longest time? Yeah well him and I are goin' out now.

Suppressing a moan of frustration, Archie sank back into the couch, his chin thumping down on his chest as he stared down the black screen of the television.
Maxie didn't speak up, and he didn't blame him. He had at least kept talking to Tabitha and Courtney—they even knew of their relationship when they had been dating for a few months. While Courtney seemed fine with it—she had surprisingly let go of her grudges quite quickly—Tabitha was quite bitter, but at least he knew and didn't bother them about it.
Archie just never had the balls to speak up and let his former team know, instead opting to just keep them in the dark.

"… Let's go."
"What?"
Archie jerked his head over to look at Maxie, who looked far less angry and far more nonchalant, too nonchalant for what Archie liked.
"I told Tabitha and Courtney about us, and now it's your turn. And if Matt knows, now he'll go and tell Shelly and whoever else is going to be at that party."
Maxie stood up as Archie tried to come up with a good rebuttal for why they should just stay home, fumbling for words as the redhead went for the kitchen.

"B-but, it-it's on the day of your soap's new episode!"
"I can record it."
"Whatta about that romantic dinner date we were planning?"
"My calendar is open all month."
Archie opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of more excuses until getting a nasty look from Maxie from the kitchen, his mouth clicking shut.
"If you try one more excuse, I'll get rid of all your stupid fish magazines."
Archie looked horrified, Maxie satisfied as he dug out the pancake mix as his boyfriend gasped, "You wouldn't."

Thumping the container on the countertop and going to the fridge, Maxie was glad his back was turned to Archie, otherwise his smile would have given him away.
"I already know a good place to dump them," Maxie hummed, opening the fridge and getting out some eggs and milk, turning around with a satisfied look he forgot to smother.
What he hadn't heard was Archie slowly creeping into the kitchen until he was grabbed, yelping in an admittedly unmanly manner as he nearly dropped both the eggs and milk.
"That face isn't the face of a man who'd get rid of my magazines," Archie mused, holding onto Maxie with one arm while his free hand cupped his jaw, leaning in to scrutinize his expression.

"You underestimate me," Maxie shot back, relieved that he had at least now dropped anything.
"I'm making pancakes. Let go."
Archie pouted, but complied, for pancakes were a worthy thing to sacrifice harassing Maxie for.
Pulling away before anything else could be done, Maxie set both eggs and milk on the countertop, fishing through the cabinets for a bowl.
"… Why don't you ever let me make pancakes? I make pretty good pancakes," Archie griped, leaning up against the counter as he watched Maxie move around, his eyes following the mix poured into the glass bowl he found.
"Because the last time you tried making anything you nearly burned down the house."
"Oh."

His mind flashed back to the small oven fire that had occurred on Thanksgiving.
It wasn't exactly his fault that the Delibird roast had caught flame because of the fact he hadn't cleaned out the oven in, well months.
… Okay, maybe it was a little bit his fault, but he still managed to take Maxie out to a nice dinner and make up for that faulty Thanksgiving.

Mentally shaking away the cobwebs of memories, he watched Maxie mix the pancake batter, growing more and more bored as he even watched the delicate process of pouring some of it into the pan.
"They say that eating raw eggs is bad for you, right?"
Maxie blinked, looking over, confused.
"Yes, eating raw eggs is bad for you, why—"
Maxie made a noise of horror as Archie reached over him, dunked his index finger in the batter and pulled it back out, sucking it off.
"Archie, why in the name of everything holy would you do that?!"
Maxie gaped at him and Archie smiled around his finger, popping it back out.

"I dunno, I think they're lyin'. Tastes too good to be THAT bad for you."
The redhead didn't even know where to start with everything wrong with that statement, trying to somewhat remain focused as he flipped the pancake, saying, "You're going to get some sort of disease now, Archie, you can't just eat batter with raw eggs."
Archie pursed his lips, looking over the golden brown surface of the pancake.
"… You just haven't tried it so you don't know how good it is."
Maxie looked at him warily, flinching back as Archie dug out more of the batter with his finger.
"No, no, you are not getting me to eat that stuff…" hissed Maxie as he turned his back on Archie, flipping the now finished pancake onto a plate.

"And now the batter is contaminated with your saliva," he grumbled as he poured out another pancake, Archie rolling his eyes.
"You have my tongue in your mouth so often, you have no room to be whining," he grunted, popping his index finger back in his mouth, Maxie lowering the heat under the pan before turning back to Archie, thinking that the danger had ebbed.
He learned how wrong of a thought this was when spotting Archie's devilish smile, the spatula he had been holding falling to the counter as he was grabbed for the second time within ten minutes.
Typically, he didn't mind being pulled flush to Archie, but at this moment he struggled, though it was all in vain as his lips was smothered in a kiss, a warm tongue pushing into his mouth.
Maxie's hands fisted into the front of Archie's t-shirt as he was subjected to the horrors of tasting the pancake batter he consumed, gasping and sputtering as Archie pulled away.

"I can't believe you did that," he gasped in horror, his face scrunched up but his eyes wide.
Archie grinned, reaching out for the spatula while still hanging onto Maxie, flipping the pancake in the pan.
"Tasted good, didn't it?"
"No!"
"Wanna try it again, then?"
When Archie leaned in for another kiss, Maxie expertly dodged it, wriggling out of his arms.

"I'm going to burn your magazines now," growled Maxie, looking down to check that the pancake had endured during that grotesque kiss.
"Aw, babe—"
"I'm doing it."
"Let's talk this out—"
"You kissed me with pancake batter."
Maxie leered at him and Archie smiled sheepishly.
"… I love you?"
Maxie could only sigh, letting Archie kiss him on the cheek.

Maxie thoroughly washed out his mouth before eating anything, ignoring Archie's teasing the entire time as he just informed him that he'd end up getting sick because of all that pancake batter he had.
They ate their breakfast in essentially the opposite of silence, as it usually went—the TV running, but Archie too busy chatting with Maxie about whatever came to mind. Primarily he spoke of going out on a nice lunch date, babbling about some nice new restaurant in Lilycove that had opened up with the boom of tourism and how the weather was supposed to be nice.
Half the time Maxie scolded him, telling him to eat with his mouth closed, stop talking with a mouthful, and griping about how he was getting syrup on the furniture in his excitement.

As giddy as he was, Archie paid little attention to any of it, though as his way of apologizing, and thanking Maxie for making breakfast, he took their dishes, pecked his boyfriend on the cheek, and marched off to the kitchen.
Waiting until hearing the water running, knowing that Archie was cleaning the dishes off, Maxie withdrew the crumbled up wad of paper he had stuffed into the pocket of his sweatpants, unfurling it.
It was written in somewhat smeared ink and with all the wrinkles, for a moment, it was hard to decipher it, but with a bit of smoothing out it became legible.

It bore an address, a date for when the party was, and then some ridiculous little drawings on the edges obviously intended for Archie. There was a Sharpedo, a big smiley face, and a crude depiction of Archie himself.
"Friday," he mumbled to himself, trying to imprint the date in his mind. It was this Friday. And today was Wednesday.
Quickly he stuffed the paper back into his pocket as Archie wandered back, plopping back down on the couch next to him.
He paused, scrutinizing Maxie's face before stating, "You got a weird look on your face."
Blinking innocently, Maxie huffed.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
"Whenever you got something on your mind you always get this funny look—"
"What I have on my mind is how disgusting you can be!"

Archie blinked and then seemed to remember the incident with the pancake batter, rolling his eyes.
"It wasn't that bad."
Maxie tried not to look relieved as he escaped having to tell Archie his plans of getting them to that party, instead raising an eye brow, leaning back against the couch.
"It was pretty bad," Maxie answered flatly, reaching out, his hand brushing against Archie's cheek, his thumb caressing it.
"Though, I'll give you one more chance to make up for it."
Voice deepening into a purr, Maxie watched in amusement as Archie's went from pouting to grinning, seeing the other man's eyes flash as he moved forward.
Maxie let his hand fall away as Archie pushed him flat on his back on the couch, a hand burying itself in red hair as Archie leaned in.

"I think I can do that," Archie murmured, Maxie cracking a grin before it was hidden behind Archie's mouth, wrapping his arms around Archie's neck.

"We are not going."

Archie folded his arms over his chest, leering at Maxie as the redhead moved around his bedroom. Refusing to budge from the bed, he jammed himself further under the blankets, ignoring the weary look he got.
"Archie, I already told you that we're going to this party. Now get up and dress in something nice—"
"I told you before I was done with them! They obviously aren't gonna accept us and even then, they aren't a good group to be around."
Maxie fiddled with the cuffs of his dark gray dress shirt, readjusting the black waistcoat over it so that it felt more properly fitted to himself.
"I don't care. If they are going to be ringing our doorbell and see that you aren't alone in the house, you won't be able to avoid them just by not going to their parties."

Smoothing his hair back, Maxie hunted around for his nice dress shoes as Archie whined, hearing him slam his foot down against the bed.
"If they try to barge in here, I'll just tell them off. At this party, you never know what might happen!"
Rolling his eyes, Maxie ignored him as he went to the edge of the bed, sitting down and putting on his shoes.
"We're leaving in twenty minutes," Maxie stated shortly, rubbing a thumb against a smudge on the dark leather of his right shoe.
"I'll go by myself and tell them you chickened out of coming if you aren't dressed by that time."

That was enough to stir Archie into action, Maxie looking over as the covers were flung back and Archie, grumbling, went to their shared closet.
"I'm not letting you go by yourself," he muttered, grabbing one of the dress shirts Maxie had ironed and hung up for him.
"Who knows what they'll do…"
Maxie wanted to roll his eyes at how dramatic Archie was being, but instead went up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, patting his shoulder.
"It'll be fine. Just hurry up and get dressed so we can go."

Archie grunted, Maxie rubbing his shoulder for a moment before leaving the bedroom, letting Archie have his space while he got dressed.
Admittedly, he was a bit anxious—not of his former teammate's opinions, no, but rather what would happen if they said something unwarranted and it incited Archie's anger.
At least Maxie could maintain a level head and talk it out before acting upon physical violence—not that he would anyways, considering he wasn't necessarily built for that sort of thing.
Archie, on the other hand…
Pursing his lips, Maxie took out the slip of paper, checking the address.
He'd have to make sure Archie minded himself.

The car ride was silent, no conversation made between himself and Archie. The air was brimming with tension, and every once in awhile, Maxie would look over at Archie, whose jaw was clenched tight, his teeth grinding as he focused on the road.
The redhead somewhat regretted letting him drive their car. He was going to run them off the road and kill them both if he really was that angry.
Suppressing a sigh, Maxie just looked at the time on his phone—seven p.m.—and looked outside. It was already pitch black as it always got in the winter, Maxie somewhat wishing it wasn't so late.
He didn't want to stay at this place for very long, despite his desires for Archie to fess up to what he had been doing for the past year.
He had told Tabitha and Courtney, and now, it was time for Archie to repair the bridges he had burned.

"There it is."
Archie's voice was grim, Maxie seeing the house in case. The neighborhood they were in was small and even from where they were, he could see the activity within the brightly-lit home, see people moving around.
"You still have the chance to change your mind," Archie offered hopefully and Maxie shook his head.
"Nope, we're heading in."
Sighing heavily, Archie was denied the opportunity of continuing to drive past and instead pulled into the driveway behind some other vehicles, parking and turning off the engine.
"Please, Maxie, I just—"
"We're already here and I don't want to hear any more of your fussing. Come on."
Maxie leaned in to peck Archie on the lips, though the other man's discontent look lingered as he opened his door, getting out of the car.
Slowly did Archie follow suit, Maxie watching to make sure he didn't try anything crazy, but he went around the front and to his boyfriend.

"Let's set some ground rules," growled Archie, grabbing Maxie's wrist before he could head to the front door.
"Don't eat or drink anything they offer you, don't go into any rooms by yourself, and don't ever leave my side."
Maxie blinked, pulling back his wrist as he sighed, "You're really too paranoid, Archie. I'm a fully grown man, not a child. I can handle myself."
Archie looked tense, looking to the house with dread.
"Come on," Maxie ushered, grabbing Archie's hand and pulling at him, the former Aqua leader giving a groan of defeat as he was forced up the path and to the front door, hearing the low thrum of music and the much louder sound of conversation.

"We're staying for an hour, and then leaving," grumbled Archie, his stomach sinking as Maxie let go of his hand to ring the doorbell.
The moment he heard the doorknob rattle, Archie grabbed onto Maxie's shoulders and dragged him close, the redhead sputtering in confusion.
"Archie, what are you—"
"Hey, you came!"

Archie never felt happier to see Matt answering the door, glad to see somebody who already knew about everything rather than anyone else who had yet to be informed.
He held onto Maxie a little tighter when seeing Matt giving him a onceover, though immediately Matt gave Archie a sheepish look.
"I, uh, tried to explain some things about you both before ya got here, to everybody, that is. So you wouldn't deal with… Any… surprised reactions."
Matt shifted uncomfortably as he tried finding the right words, Archie grunting.
"Sure, thanks, Matt. We aren't gonna be here long anyways."
Matt looked disappointed, but it didn't last long as Archie shouldered past him, Maxie in tow, whether he liked it or not.
The redhead found himself glued to Archie's side, who now seemed on a mission to tell everyone what was going on and then leave as promptly as was possible.

"Archie, calm down," Maxie muttered as he felt himself practically dragged through the front hallway, Matt helplessly following them.
"I'm not gonna be calm until we're out of this shithole," Archie hissed back, grimacing as the voices got louder with every step towards the living room.
Maxie's lips thinned with frustration, already knowing that this experience was going to be even worse than it was going to be.
If Archie maintained this vicious attitude, he was certain they'd be kicked out.

The living room was brightly lit and spacious, a TV broadcasting a sports game mounted up over the mantle of the fireplace. It was a mixed team of pokemon and human players, though Maxie's eyes flicked away from it promptly as he eye-balled the occupants of the room.
A table was set up with a cheap tablecloth spread out over it, covered in alcoholic beverages and junk food, two men Maxie acknowledged as former Aqua grunts happily chatting.
"Archie!"
The delighted cry interrupted the redhead's absorption of the environment, looking over in sync with his boyfriend as his eyes filled with orange.
Shelly had perked up from where she was lounging on the couch, her happy greeting alerting the other people currently present in the living room.

Matt appeared from behind them, sidling into the living room as he tried not to brush past either Maxie or Archie, lest he incited the anger of either one of them.
Shelly was getting up from the couch and Maxie, rapidly, removed Archie's arm from his shoulders.
"What're you—"
Archie's distraught mutter was interrupted as he was nudged forward, the redhead brushing by.

"Talk to your friends, I'm not going to be far."
Archie stared helplessly as Maxie abandoned him to go to the refreshment table—already breaking two of the established ground rules—and he couldn't pursue, swarmed promptly by Shelly and some of the former grunts whom he had become good companions with during the era of Aqua.
"It's been so long, Archie," Shelly chimed, her hand falling onto his bicep, Archie dragging his eyes from Maxie to the vibrant woman next to him.
"I see you've been busy."

Her eyes went to where Archie had once been staring, observing Maxie making small talk with a man who had not joined the excitement around Archie.
"Yeah, it has been an… eventful year since we last talked," Archie answered, forcing himself to focus on conversation rather than his paranoia. There was still bad blood between his former teammates and Maxie, he was certain. He had never bothered to build a bridge between his companions and Maxie, and now, he fretted over something bad happening.
"Why didn't you tell me you had managed to get over old grudges?"

Archie could feel Shelly's weight leaning up against him as she observed Maxie, who seemed at ease despite the fact he was surrounded by former enemies.
Was that a smile he spotted?
"Didn't think it really mattered that much," Archie answered, his view of Maxie blocked as Shelly swung around in front of him.
"I think it kinda does when you go from wanting to kill each other to holding hands."
Scowling, Archie was beginning to recall why he had broke off ties with Shelly and the others.

Matt looked on timidly, the others attending the party that had hoped to cut in with a hello for Archie slinking off as to avoid suffering the wrath of either former admin Shelly or the man they once called boss.
"H-hey, you wanna get a drink, Archie?" Matt offered up, tentatively putting a hand on Archie's shoulder. He flinched when Archie pulled away, the taller man moving around Shelly.
"Sure, I can have a drink," grumbled Archie, feeling Shelly's eyes following him as he promptly fled any more interrogations.

Maxie looked away from the pleasant conversation about the sports game on the television he was having when sensing movement, wincing when feeling his shoulder grabbed, a hand firmly gripping it.
"I told you not to leave me," Archie hissed into his ear, reaching around Maxie to grab one of the plastic cups containing some liquor. He had no idea what he was, but he downed it, the burning sensation in his throat a decent enough distraction from the pounding in his head that had been roused by his anger.
"I'm in the middle of a conversation, Archie," Maxie scolded, the man he was speaking with suddenly looking a bit on edge.
"S'alright, Maxie, uh, I need to go do somethin' anyways," the man nervously answered, Maxie opening his mouth to soothe him, but he was already fleeing.
"Wait, Leo—"
He was already gone, heading into some other room, and Maxie groaned, turning entirely back to Archie.

He already had another drink in his hand, and apparently within the time he had been trying to soothe Leo's distress, he had one other shot.
"Archie—"
Maxie reached out, delicately pulling the drink from Archie's hand.
"I can handle myself, and I want you to be able to talk to everyone here and try to repair what you've broken. And that means no more drinking."
He set the plastic cup back on the table, Archie not looking happy at all.
"There's nothing to repair," Archie grumbled, Maxie glancing back.
No one was watching them, despite the obvious tension between Archie and the others, and instead they mostly seemed fixed on the intensity of the sports game on the television.

"We're not going to stay here long," Maxie murmured, lifting up a hand as he turned back to Archie, his palm touching to his boyfriend's cheek.
"Just endure it—maybe things will turn out better."
His eyes moved over Archie's face, trying to decide if he was making the right choice of making them stay there.
Giving up on trying to figure out if he had done the right thing, he gave Archie a quick peck on the lips, patted his shoulder and then went away, Archie's eyes trailing after him.

Matt, who had disappeared down the hall with Leo, poked his head back out, spotting Maxie and lighting up.
"Ey, Maxie, Leo was wonderin' if you wanted to play some pool with us?"
The redhead paused, glancing back at Archie, who was still at the refreshment table.
"… Sure," Maxie agreed, turning back around, Archie sullenly watching him disappear down the hall with Matt.
Ignoring Maxie's prior statement of how he wasn't allowed to drink, Archie picked back up the cup that had been taken away from him and downed it.
Leaving it behind and grabbing another full cup, he slunk off to the couch, jamming himself in between Shelly and some other woman.

"What's going on with the game?" Archie asked, his voice flat and unexcited, but he still listened to the conversation as he was caught up, taking in large mouthfuls of liquor.

Maxie thought everything was going smoothly.
Unlike Archie's prediction, he was welcomed—it was a bit rough at first, but eventually, Matt warmed up to him as did the others, Maxie even finding himself being invited to future gatherings while being caught up on the lives of the former Aqua members who had returned to normal lifestyles. Matt chattered about being a construction worker, so giddy about talking that he often messed up in their game. He cared little about it even then as he described the new shopping mall he helped built in Lilycove and described how strange it was working on Pacifidlog Town, what with it being supported by a Corsola colony.
Maxie heard about families being started from some of the former grunts, passions discovered, and a far less stressful life with there no longer being the need to revive Kyogre.

Time flew by and from seven, the next time Maxie checked his phone, it was ten. He had promised Archie they'd leave two hours ago, but the man had never come and harassed him, so Maxie felt a sense of hope that he had managed to find happiness with his old friends again.
"Ready for another game, Maxie?"
The chipper voice of one of the women in the room distracted him from his thoughts, Maxie looking at the eager faces gazing at him with hope.
"Archie had wanted to go some time ago—let me just go check in with him."
There were some understanding nods and some looks of disappointment, but Matt lifted his fist high.

"I will carry the torch on for you until you get back, Maxie!" he declared, the redhead cracking a grin.

"Thank you, I'll try to be back soon."
Waving a hand to try and acknowledge all the fond, hopeful remarks for his return, Maxie left the room the pool table was set up in, heading back to the living room where he had seen Archie last.
The TV was still going, but on commercial, and there were some of the people he had gotten buddy-buddy with during the pool game that had gone back out to snack.
There were also a notable number of drinks missing from the table, but he didn't think much of it.

"Hey, Maxie!" one of his newfound companions chirruped, turning to him.
"Hello—do you happen to know where Archie is…?"
"Uhm, I think he went into the kitchen earlier with Shelly? Dunno why."
Thanking them after being shown where he could find the kitchen, Maxie pressed on, taking a left from the living room as instructed and stepping into the open kitchen.

"Archie, I was curious—"
Maxie looked up for the other man, his words stuttering to a halt.
She had her arms around him, their lips were interlocked, and all he could think was, Oh god he's kissing her.
Thoughts racing and unable to quite process the sight of Shelly clutching onto Archie, trapped in a moment that could have been slapped on some cover of one of those cliché romantic novels he'd seen in the supermarket, Maxie took a step back.
"I'm—I'm sorry, I'll just… Be in the car…"
He turned sharply on his heel, not seeing Archie pushing away Shelly and turning sharply, his expression morphing into distraught.

"Ah, Christ," Archie swore, taking a step forward then pausing, leering back at Shelly, looking like he wanted to say something before just giving up with a growl of frustration, storming out of the kitchen.
He caught a glimpse of guilt on her face, a hint of regret in her eyes, but it didn't matter now as he pursued Maxie.

Matt was in the living room, standing near the front entrance, perking up when seeing Archie coming by.
"Hey, Archie, did Maxie ever find ya? He went outside in quite a rush—"
"Just get out of my way!"
Matt ducked back before he would have been swatted aside by a strong hand, blinking as he watched Archie disappear outside, the front door slamming shut.
"… Weird," Matt used, chomping down on a potato chip and heading back into the living room to watch the game.

Archie caught Maxie before he had even gotten into the car, and internally he was thanking himself for keeping a hold on the keys, for he was certain the redhead would have just driven off if given the chance.
"Maxie, wait," Archie puffed, getting a deadly look as he got close.
"Don't worry, Archie, I'm glad you managed to rekindle your friendship with Shelly," Maxie growled, pressing his back closer to the vehicle as Archie got close, trying to keep a distance between them.
"Don't touch me-!"
He struggled somewhat as Archie reached out, his hands gripping his shoulders, forcing Maxie to face him.
"Maxie, it wasn't what it had looked like," Archie helplessly started, Maxie turning his head away, scrunching up his nose.

"You stink of alcohol—you didn't listen to me and you got drunk," muttered Maxie. It was easy to tell beyond the stench of liquor from Archie's somewhat slurred speak, but he remained coherent enough to have a conversation with.
"Maxie," he pleaded. "Things had just gotten emotional, y'know? And, and, Shelly wasn't thinkin' either—she, she kissed me, Maxie!"
The redhead closed his eyes, humiliated by Archie, by how drunk he was, by his poor decisions.
"You've embarrassed me," Maxie muttered, fingers digging into his shoulders, Archie looking hurt.
"You got drunk, you said things you shouldn't have, you—"

"It's my fault."

Maxie felt annoyed as his scolding was interrupted, but he turned his head, as did Archie, to see a shameful-looking Shelly standing in front of the door.
"And I'm sorry. I just… Archie 'n I used to have something, and I guess I was hoping it was still there."
Maxie was silent, giving her a look that said, 'Keep going', and Shelly kept right on talking.
"He got himself drunk, and I thought I could weasel out some sort of confession that he only hooked up with you to satisfy some sick sort of revenge."
Archie frowned, letting his hands fall away from Maxie as he listened to Shelly, not having much to say as she fell silent for a moment before speaking back up.
Her eyes focused intensely on Maxie, her expression going from regretful to serious, as if what she wanted to say was much too important to miss.

"You guys really got somethin'. I'm sorry for holding onto old grudges and old, stupid hopes. And I hope that my stupid behavior doesn't stop you two from visitin' us in the future. I know everyone has really warmed up to you, Maxie."
Maxie remained silent as he chewed over what had been presented to him, Archie having no room to say anything—it wasn't really his decision to make, to decide whether or not Maxie would come back.
"… I accept your apology," Maxie decided, Shelly looking relieved.
"But you, on the other hand—"
Archie yelped in pain as his shoulder was punched, pressing a hand tight over the now sore spot as he shrunk under Maxie's vicious look.

"You're an idiot for not listening to me," he hissed, Archie whining as he rubbed his shoulder.
"But—but—you didn't listen to me—"
"Your rules were born from paranoia. And you were the one who was supposed to drive, so—"
Maxie punched Archie's other shoulder, the former Aqua leader protectively slapping both hands on either shoulders.
"Stop that!"

Leaning forward, hand settling on Archie's chest as he was pouted at, Maxie got close, the tip of his nose nigh upon brushing against Archie's.
"The first punch is for getting drunk. The second one is for being a pain in the ass."
He closed the distance, pressing a firm kiss to Archie's lips, the hand on his chest slipping down.

Maxie pulled away, leaving Archie looking far happier, up until his eyes darted to the keys glinting in the light cast from the house.
"Hey!"
Spinning them around his finger, Maxie jammed into his pocket, turning away from Archie.
"I'll drive us back home, but for now, I have another game of pool waiting for me."

Heading back to the house, Shelly was still standing there, Maxie pausing, holding out a hand to her.
She seemed surprised, but accepted the hand extended to her, walking with him into the house.
"I don't think we've gotten to actually talk once ever since I got here," Maxie noted as he looked to Shelly, hearing Archie give a unhappy noise at being left behind next to the car.

"Do you feel up to playing a game of pool, Shelly?"
She looked back at Archie, as if fretting over his reaction, but he seemed too busy with the pain in his shoulders to care that Maxie had sauntered off.
Well, somewhat.
He still peered back up at them, his eyes focused on his boyfriend, checking in, despite all pain and drunkenness, that his mood was better.

"Yeah, sure, I'm up for a game."
Shelly smiled at Maxie, met with a smile in return as they headed back into the house, Archie following not too far behind, closing the door behind them.
What Maxie didn't see was Archie's smile, the relief in his eyes that perhaps he would be able to have his old friends back, and be able to stay with Maxie without the pain of judgment.
Watching Maxie head back into the living room with Shelly, Archie paused in the doorway, taking his time surveying the bright, excited response to Maxie's return, smile broadening.

Things were looking up.