It was hard to find grunts willing to work overnight, much less ones who were decent at it. Archie had basically given up on it, and worked them himself more often than not. Much as he might have raised a fuss to management, he actually didn't mind much. It was quiet, easy work that gave him plenty of time to think which he liked. Or, more specifically, he liked watching one of the people who stayed up to think.

The lab supervisor, Maxie, had no real idea what a shift even was. Archie wouldn't have been surprised if he didn't know what a bed was, either. He always was working at something, generally training his pokemon on the rare chance that there weren't samples to collect and analyze. And, if somehow he didn't have either one to do, there was always data to enter into the system.

He was bristly and pretentious, and didn't suffer fools well. But Archie had come to enjoy talking to someone that straight-forward and passionate. And Maxie, for his part, seemed to also enjoy being worn down by the visits during Archie's rounds.

They'd eventually become acquainted enough that Maxie only glanced over as Archie picked up his cup noodles to read the label.

"You could at least go for a better brand."

"I like these," Maxie insisted as he tried to get his dinner back without getting out of his chair.

He held it out of reach, which wasn't difficult for a variety of reasons. "That's not possible"

"You'd be amazed what some hot oil can do," he shrugged. "Besides, they're quicker to heat up than the other varieties." He gave up on reaching with a (unadmittedly humored) huff and returned to his data entry.

"By how much?" Archie put the cup back down and dragged a rolling chair over. "A minute?"
"Yes," Maxie replied with a touch of defiance.

"Wow."

Without the pretext in his voice, Maxie muttered, "I know."

Archie placed his chin in his hand as he looked over the numbers like he could understand them. "So how's the serum coming?"
"The science team is very pleased with its progress," he said, and motioned towards a jar as if to prove his point. "If we had another six months or so to test it, it'd be perfect."

"And what did they give you?"

"One." He exhaled sharply through his nose at the indignity of it. "That was quite the feat to get, too."

"Yeah," he agreed. "That sounds like management."

"Mmm. Pressuring your boys again, are they?"

"They're convinced there will be a raid unless everyone works doubles." He rolled his eyes with a shake of the head. "Told'em I what I really need is more guys, but they won't go for it."

"Shame."

He meant, and truly believed, that the two of them could run this operation much better. That sort of talk was dangerous, though. Maxie settled for the knowledge that Archie felt the same way.

"They say the scientists can handle it just fine." He jerked a thumb towards the Pokeballs on Maxie's belt. "You guys were issued Pokemon, after all."

He turned from his computer, horrified. "And most of my team can't think of them as anything but lab assistants or pets. They have too much work to do much else. Training one up would take-!"

"A month at least." He saw the wheels turning in Maxie's head and scowled. "Don't you go taking on more hours over this."

"I don't see how I can't. I now have to be responsible for my own protection on top of-"

Archie leaned in, and said solemnly, "I'll make sure you're looked after."

Taken aback by the conviction in his voice, Maxie couldn't think how to respond. He hid the awkwardness with a long drink from his coffee.

Archie still noted the faint blush, and went on. "You work too much, anyway."

"I don't," he said as he put down the mug with a pointed 'thunk'.

He raised an unimpressed eyebrow. "When's the last time you even took a day to yourself?"

"Well, a whole day is excessive." He insisted. "But I do take time for my own projects."

"Like what?"

"You wouldn't be interested, I'm sure," Maxie said, with a laugh that few people would have understood wasn't trying to condescend.

"Try me."

Maxie eyed him. "Very well." After a suspicious look around to confirm they were alone, before he pulled a notebook out. "Well-"

The series of facts about mythology, geology, and mathematics that followed were indecipherable to put it mildly. Archie did his best to keep up, but he mostly feigned understanding instead.

Maxie was thankfully too excited about his pet project to see through it, and concluded, "Do you see?"

"I-"

"There's a real chance the myths are true!" His smile was wide and genuine, the sort everyone else in the organization would have thought was impossible. "The world could be returned to its rightful state!"

Archie grinned right back. He took the notebook, and eagerly looked over the scans that were taped inside. One, from a mythology text, featured a beautiful aquatic Pokemon…

He didn't get more than a moment to look. Maxie pulled the notebook away and hastily shut it.

"But that's all theoretical," he said, with the same seriousness he regularly used. "And this is not really the place to talk about something so…" He peered around again for any onlookers then added quietly, "Off topic."

"Yeah, you're right," He said with a shrug. So why don't we get out of here?"

"I'm not going anywhere." He turned and slid the notebook back into its hiding place. "I have work to do."

"Then take a break. Nobody else works this hard."

Maxie chuckled. "Well, that's true, but that still doesn't mean-"

"And," He added, tantalizingly, "My shift is almost over."

"I'm glad for you, but-"

"So I'm taking you for breakfast."

Maxie's face flushed as he finally realized what was happening. Or, at least, what some part of him absolutely hoped was happening. The rest of him couldn't take the pressure, so he said, "I don't remember agreeing to-"

"They make the best miso in Hoenn," he grinned, "You're going to love it."

"Archie…" He said, a bit more pathetically than he would have liked. "Look, I-"

"And you need some real food." He smirked when he saw Maxie go for his mug once again to hide the blush that had only grown stronger. "They also have some great coffee."

The small part of him finally won out, and he managed a quiet "That sounds nice."

Archie grinned as he stood up from his chair. "I'll come pick you up in an hour, alright?"

He nodded since his ability to speak gone.

"Great, see you," he said as he headed out to continue his rounds.

Maxie was glad, for once, that none of his assistants were dedicated enough to work overnights. He had plenty of time to get himself sorted out before anyone else slowly wandered in with their mumbled 'good morning's. And, maybe, he had time to straighten himself out for what was clearly more akin to a business meeting than a…

Definitely not a date. It had been too eventful a shift for him to handle that.