AN- Gee, I wonder.
There is adult content in this chapter. If you do not want to read that, please pay attention to the XXX markers on this chapter and skip down until you see the same marker again. That is when all graphic material ends. Understand you will be missing out some information regarding Archie's character.
Ok, let's go.
-Cyclone-
Sex
Three hours after returning home from his date with Maxie, Archie compiled a nice list of things he had achieved since he had moved to Slateport City. He included his date with Maxie, along with the redhead asking him just twenty minutes prior if he'd liked to out on another one.
He stared at it, noting that it lacked the closeness of an actual letter, and then folded it up, stuffing it into an envelope and tapping it shut. After some deliberation, he wrote out his old address and told himself that he would send this to his father later, once he had some rest. It wasn't a letter, but it had all the important information a parent would like to hear from their child. Archie mentioned having a roof over his head, a job, and enough food and money to get by. His grades were good. He made a lot of friends. He saved a man's life. One of his Zubats had evolved into an amazing Golbat, and the other had found solace in Maxie. He had a Poochyena. He'd been on a date with Maxie.
After some rest, Archie jumped out of his hammock and took that envelope with the nice list of accomplishments, and he bought himself a stamp, and after determining that priority fly mail wasn't necessary, he stuffed that letter right into the mailbox. By the time he got back home he was regretting it. But there was nothing he could do about it, and he knew his father would passively assume Maxie was a girl, or that it was a college experiment. Or something.
He hoped his father would write back.
Days went by without a word, and Archie would have made time to worry about it were it not for finals getting in the way of things. He chose to sweat over getting better grades this semester. Maxie insisted Archie had it in him to earn above a "C," and he thought better grades might be worth mentioning the next time he wrote to his father.
Maxie took him out to see that show. The redhead paid for everything. Archie did his best not to add up the amount of money spent on him. He couldn't help it. But they had fun. It was the first time he'd ever seen bands play live. Maxie had allowed himself to fall into the mood of things, and Archie got to cheer him on as they drank, ate and complained about final exams and the terrible weather. He forgot about his father and the letter, and instead concentrated on trying to one-up his roommate the next time they went out again.
Matt called him back and asked how things were. Archie replied that he was doing great. He asked Matt how he was faring. The man laughed and answered great, and kept on thanking him for saving his life, and that Archie was the best, and they he really needed to find a way to make it up to him. A boat ride. A trip to Dewford. Archie chose a simple conversation over some drinks. Matt was pleased and promised he's at least pay for the first few rounds.
Classes were over, and Archie waved goodbye to his dorm-residing friends and graduates. His wrist healed, leaving behind tiny light spots where his Golbat had bitten him. Maxie let him know that he had spoken with a few marine biology students who worked in the lab, and had gotten him a place for summer interning. Archie counted his savings and asked if Maxie might want to go with him to see a movie, if it didn't get in the way of his schedule. Maxie said he'd make time for it.
Archie visited his friends. He saw how happy some were with their boyfriends or girlfriends. He thought about his two dates with Maxie and how wonderful they had been. He visited Matt, had those drinks, and met his girlfriend. While they talked, Archie thought about how empty the campus was. So many people had gone home to visit their families. He wasn't working that many hours. He had a lot of free time on his hands.
The air conditioner broke. The manager didn't feel like putting in a request. The pool was cleaned. Everything else remained a mess. Pokémon still ran around, and Archie chased after them and took them back to their residence.
Winning battles was easier with Golbat. It swept through Pokémon like it was no one's business. Letting it rest on his head wasn't an option anymore, but Archie made a point to figure out new ways to cuddle and play with it.
Maxie was an excellent trainer. Archie couldn't double battle to save his life, but Maxie was a natural. One day after work, Archie was greeted with a Mightyena leaping and knocking him down. After nearly having his face licked clean off, and quick congratulations, Maxie reminded him of his meeting with a lab instructor the following week.
Archie took Maxie out to see a movie. It was terrible. Archie considered sneaking them into another theater. Maxie scolded him for thinking about it.
"It's the thought that counts," Maxie told him.
Maxie held Archie's hand and asked him if he liked spending all this time with him. Archie admitted he did. All of this was fun. Maxie asked if he had time for a boyfriend. Archie replied saying he had a lot of time to spend. A boyfriend might not be a bad idea.
Maxie asked Archie if he wanted to enter a relationship with him.
Archie couldn't think of a reason to say no.
The lab was cold. Super cold. Comfortable for an ice Pokémon cold. Even after he put on a lab coat, Archie could still feel the goose bumps covering his arms and rubbing against the uncomfortable fabric.
"This is where we keep the Grimer," a young lab assistant named Tess said.
Archie peered down into a giant tank filled with murky water. He watched the surface sway as the Pokémon hidden beneath the brown and gray depths moved about. Or maybe the water was moving around so much because of the strange looking device attacked at the far end of the tub. Archie supposed it might have been some kind of filtering device. Then he remembered Tess mentioning that the Grimer were natural filters themselves. He kept trying to figure out why there was a large, noisy box attached to these Grimer's temporary homes.
"These particular Grimer are from the west side of Slateport," she continued, smiling down at Archie. He continued to squint and make out the shapes of the slimy Pokémon.
"Huh," Archie muttered. He squatted down and brought his eyes to the glass walls of the tank. He had a better view of something sliding around, pressing its gelatinous form against the clear side for Archie to view and back away from.
"What you'll be doing is taking a small sample from their body, and then test the purity content of the water that you obtain from it," she explained. "You saw the gloves hanging up on the side, by the coat rack? You'll be using those to grab and handle them."
Archie felt his body give a twitch as he noticed two eyes appear on the purple mound of slime. He watched as it stared at him, and then saw a small hole, maybe a mouth, open up and produce what looked like a smile. It was pretty hard to tell. But as ugly as it looked, Archie couldn't help but smirk at the thing.
"I don't touch 'em myself?" he asked, a little curious about the consistency of a Grimer.
"Although rather docile in nature," he heard Tess begin, "these Grimer contain valuable information on the quality of seawater in Slateport. Coming into physical contact with them can result in contaminating the water they carry inside of them, messing up the results."
"Ok," he replied. It was a little upsetting to hear, but then, Archie supposed he wouldn't have liked it much anyways.
"You'll want to be careful when treating them with the specialty pliers and scalpel," Tess continued.
Archie stood back up. "Scapel?" He remembered using one of those when he had to dissect Pokémon in his other classes. A scalpel was a sharp, nasty little thing…but the Pokémon he had used them on were dead. These Grimer were very much alive. And the look on Tess' face suggested that their gooey bodies still had a collection of nerves that didn't appreciate being pulled or sliced apart.
"It's unfortunate," she admitted, smiling nervously at Archie. "But it's something that needs to be done. A healthy Grimer is capable to spawning new body mass, not that you'll be taking much from their bodies." She brought the clipboard up to her chest, looking a tad defensive.
Archie knew better than to complain. Maxie had gone out of his way to speak with some of the marine biology majors who were performing lab work and experiments on campus. He already had a few professors bring up the idea of him being introduced to lab and fieldwork, once he started second year. But now he was being shown around the labs, getting ready for a summer internship of hard work and no pay. If things went well, Archie could end up working part time in a lab similar to this one, but off campus, and closer to the beaches. This was a big opportunity, and complaining about not touching some Grimer, or giving it a few prods and pokes, would only make all his and Maxie's hard work for naught.
"That's cool," Archie said, smiling at Tess. "And they grow the parts right back?"
"Yes," she answered back, the worry fading from her face. Archie watched her lower her clipboard. "Trust me, it sounds a lot worse than it actually is."
Archie nodded his head. "Right."
"And you'll be able to help a lot of Pokémon and people when you gather information on our city's water quality."
Archie nodded his head again. "Yeah," he said.
"Now, if you're the last person to leave the lab, you'll want to place a cover on the tank," she said, pointing over with her pen to a dark, rolled up mat that was lying by the side. "And make sure it's covered completely, so they don't try to run away."
Archie raised a brow. "What?" he asked. He looked down at the tank, without its cover, and the murky, moving water. There had to be at least half a dozen of those things moving around in it. "They're not tryin' to leave right now?"
"You see that machine right there?" Tess asked, pointing over to the large box that Archie had been wondering about.
"Yeah?"
"That's a modified vibrating machine," she said. "You know, the kind some people buy to lose weight?" She chuckled. "Well, we have this baby set up during the day, and it sends vibrations across the plexiglass, and it makes it harder for them to grip on and crawl their way out."
"They try to escape?"
"All the time," she went on, sounding so casual about the entire situation. "They're wild Pokémon. And space in each tub is limited. "
"Oh," Archie muttered. He looked at the dimensions of the tub and frowned.
"Don't worry," he heard her add, "after a few weeks we release them back into the wild."
A few weeks in a cramped, vibrating tub didn't sound nice. And time had a way of slowing down when things got uncomfortable.
"Now, let me show you where you'll be performing the vivisections, and explain the process to you step by step."
Archie wasn't sure he wanted to break his eyes away from the tank, not when he knew there were several crowded Pokémon in there. But he remembered what Tess had said about this all being helpful to the people and Pokémon of the city, and unlike Team Rocket, this strange set up was something that had to be done.
"Alright," he said. He did his best to sound as enthusiastic as he could, the way he'd imagine he would have been when he and Maxie had made their way up.
He tried his hardest.
After being shown a series of sharp little tools, measuring units, machines, and sheets, Archie was finally given permission to leave, but not before Tess handed him a small lab key. It actually felt nice in his hands, and Archie almost forgot the strange feeling he had developed when he had stared at an absentminded-looking Grimer that had tried to crawl away from Tess as she readied to cut it.
He made his way out of the building, down to the student center, where he left Maxie to work on creating a syllabus for the club they'd be managing together. Thinking about it made Archie smile. Not just the fact that Maxie was going to help him with the club, but that Maxie was going to run it with him. Maxie. His boyfriend.
Archie almost had to stop and think about that word. Even though it had only been a few days, it felt so official.
Despite this, hardly anything had changed. Maxie was still being his usual, hard-working self, which was great because it gave Archie time to work and transition into this new mindset of being a good boyfriend to Maxie.
Maxie really liked kissing him, mostly on the cheek, but sometimes on the lips. Archie liked that he was worth the affection. And Maxie, while not much of a hand-holder, did like to take Archie by the hand and play with his fingers, maybe rub his palm gently while he studied or rested next to him. They were very nice gestures, and Archie appreciated the attention, and he wanted to figure out what Maxie liked so he could give him something back. He wanted to know when he should surprise Maxie with a kiss. He didn't want to do what he did with Stevie and just make a move on her at every given opportunity.
Archie opened the door and made his way through the student union. With summer vacation in progress, there were only a few students sitting and reading textbooks for their summer courses. Archie searched around for the quietest, least occupied part of the building, and eventually found Maxie in one of the study rooms, busy with one of the computers.
"Hey there," Archie whispered out, tapping the redhead on the shoulder.
Maxie stopped typing and looked over his shoulder, smiling up at Archie. "How were things with Tess?" he asked.
"Ah, well, they certainly were interestin'," Archie said. "Y'know they keep the Grimer in a vibrating tank?"
"I did not," Maxie replied. He grabbed a flash-drive resting on the table and plugged it into the computer's mainframe. "By the way," he added, pointing at the screen." I've finished typing out your intended syllabus for next semester."
"Wow," Archie commented. He leaned in close, resting his hands on top of Maxie's shoulders. "You got like, all the important ideas regardin' Pokémon, right?"
"I've reworded a few things." He felt Maxie's shoulders move. "You had a lot of goals set for a newly formed club, so I've taken the liberty of reorganizing a few meet up dates, as well as removing some of your less concentrated plans."
Archie lowered his head on top of Maxie. "I don't like that."
"I know," he heard Maxie reply underneath him. "But understand you only have about twenty members, three of which are not students or faculty approved."
"Yeah, yeah," Archie grumbled.
"Your first year goals should be setting up a proper agenda, as well as learning to organize and create awareness," Maxie continued.
"I was hopin' to fix things up as soon as possible," Archie muttered. He felt a hand rest on top of his own. He looked down and stared at Maxie's hand, surprised by how bold a move it was.
"I've thought about that." Maxie continued to stare at the screen. "And I figured after the first three weeks you can start organizing dates that involve welfare and aid to Pokémon living within the city."
Three weeks seemed like a very long time to wait. Archie had just assumed once a club was set up, that he could get everyone to start working. But the longer he stared at the screen, the more it started to make sense, and Archie was forced to agree.
"What about you?" he asked, squeezing Maxie's shoulder. "Ya said you wanted to help people, right?"
"Something like that." He heard Maxie chuckle. "My interests lie in humanity as a whole."
"Ya said something about progressin' technology and stuff?"
Maxie looked up at him. "I'm glad you remembered," he said. "But not just technology. I want the whole of human civilization to progress and reach it's maximum potential."
"Bwahahaha!" Archie grabbed and held on to Maxie. "Maxie, ya can't tell me I'm being idealistic and then spout that sort of talk on me!"
"I'll admit," Maxie began, "I do need to focus my attention on a few short term goals before expanding further. But once we gather enough members, I'll be able to test our ability to have various people work together, under similar goals of improving a city."
"Ya sure that's all ya wanna do right now?" Archie asked.
"I have an entire year for me to watch and observe a group of people working under a common goal." Maxie grabbed the computer's mouse and made a few changes before saving the file into the drive. "Once I understand how different people function as a whole, I'll be able to develop another group, applying it with my personal set of ideals and passions, and set in practice with knowledge that the people working alongside me will be successful."
Archie removed himself from Maxie. "That doesn't sound very fun."
Maxie followed, getting up from his seat and pulling out the drive. "Yes, well, your passions lie elsewhere." Archie waited as Maxie collected things, stowing them away in his messenger bag. The two left the study area and made their way back into the louder portion of the building.
"You wanna grab a bite to eat?" Archie asked. "Or maybe we can go to the lounge and watch some T.V?"
Maxie grabbed on to the strap of his bag. "I didn't really get enough–"
"Maxie, it's summer vacation," Archie said, grabbing and pulling the redhead over into the direction of the lounge. "And we got all day ahead of us, so why not waste a few hours channel surfin' or just hanging out somewhere? The lounge will be empty!"
"If that's the case, we can channel surf at home," Maxie suggested.
Archie continued to drag Maxie behind him. "We don't have cable. Also, the screens over here don't look like they've been headbutted by an enraged Pokémon."
"I'd like to get some work done…"
"You can tell me more about humanity," Archie said, looking over and smirking at how annoyed Maxie looked. But he noticed he wasn't dragging Maxie anymore. And the redhead's cool, bony fingers were intertwined with his, so Maxie couldn't be that annoyed.
"I'll get ya somethin' nice to eat," he added. "We can visit one of those nice cafés by the pier. How does that sound?"
Maxie's face lit up instantaneously. "Are you suggesting we go out and spend money on sweets?" It almost didn't sound like a question to begin with. It amused Archie to see Maxie get so excited over something so simple.
"Why not?" he remarked. "I'll get ya one of those fancy coffees with all the weird additives to 'em."
Maxie began walking alongside him. "Like soymilk?"
Archie chuckled as they made their way over to the lounge. "And cinnamon. Oh, and all those syrups they have on the side!"
"Don't forget to steam it at a particular degree."
"How could I possibly?" Archie asked, feigning shock. "At twenty Poké dollars a cup? I'd make sure it was prepared at the right temperature, just fer ya!"
Maxie snickered, lifting his glasses as he wiped his face. "Fine. I'll let you waste an hour's pay on a cup of coffee."
The two had not expected the room to be crowded. During the middle of a semester, getting space in the student lounge rooms was difficult. There were , food was allowed, and having reasonable sized Pokémon out was permitted, so long as they were trained.
But today the lounge was filled with students and faculty, and every single person in the room was focused on one of the many televisions that were located throughout area.
"Police are approaching the situation..." A woman's voice echoed. Archie realized they were all watching the same program.
There was the loud sound of gunshots being fired, filling the room with terror. Everyone reacted, either flinching in place, a few jumping, some girls looking away, and Pokémon yipping or crying out from the surprise.
"Shots have been fired." Archie watched Maxie walk over to a crowd of students huddled around one of the . "We have an officer down!"
Archie knew what was on the news. He didn't need to see what was going on in order to know it was Rocket related. Hoenn news hardly ever depicted the group's movement unless something major was happening.
Another loud bang, and this time people were getting up from their seats.
"Max," Archie called out.
"This just in: an officer has taken down a Houndoom in self-defense." Several people in the room gasped. A few looked over to one other, making comments Archie couldn't hear, not with the ringing in his ears.
"Two grunts have been captured. I repeat: two Rocket grunts have been cornered and have surrendered themselves to the Johto police force."
Archie lowered his head as he hurriedly made his way over to the crowd. People were whispering.
"Officers are handling the situation. Both man and Pokémon are believed to be seriously or fatally injured…"
Archie reached out and grabbed Maxie by the arm. The man flinched, yanking it away. Archie let go as he watched Maxie turn and face him, looking angry and upset and showing it all off for Archie to witness, until he remembered where he was, and then brought himself back down.
Maxie sniffed, pouting when noticed how uncomfortable Archie appeared. "Well…"
"Let's go," Archie demanded. "Now. Please."
Maxie frowned. More people were talking, whispering to one another about the horrible incident. "Alright," he said.
"This brings the total number of humans injured to three, and the death count to one..."
Archie quickly turned himself around and made his way out of the area, eager to get out of the building. He stopped at the door, body shaky with adrenaline as he waited for Maxie.
Maxie went up to him. Archie opened the door and wondered if holding Maxie's hand would compel the redhead to hurry up. Or would the handholding slow him down? Archie just wanted to get out.
"… the total number of Pokémon injured…"
They walked all the way back to the apartments. With the all the anxiety held between them, it just felt better for them to go and expend it all by sweating it out under the hot summer sun.
Maxie was pissed about the situation. Archie could tell that much. Maxie brought up that a person's life was ended all so a man that nobody knew about could have more money and power, and it was so incredibly stupid. Archie nodded his head in agreement, wishing he had known about these sorts of things when he was growing up. Maxie went on and talked about how humans ought to be working together for the betterment of their livelihood, and Archie also agreed and but also sorta, kinda wanted Maxie to just relax and find another outlet to channel his frustrations. Not that he had anything against Maxie letting out his anger or stress, but it was unnerving to see the cool redhead get so emotional over something. Of course, the last time he had seen Maxie get like this was over Team Rocket related things.
While they continued to make their dissent, Archie let half of his mind wander around the subject of Team Rocket, and how it might have affected Maxie. It wasn't a topic that came up often. Maxie would listen to him talk about the organization, but Maxie would hardly bring up Team Rocket and talk about his share of experiences. Archie knew Maxie grew up surrounded by grunts. He knew his mother was an executive under the older regime, before Giovanni took power. He knew Maxie's father also worked under Team Rocket as one of their lead scientists, but had left one day without so much as a kiss goodbye. Maxie had his theories about what had happened between his parents, but it didn't change the fact that he had grown up without the comfort a child needed to be happy.
And as the scenery around them crew more huddled, with apartment complexes filling up whatever space they could, and cardboard boxes filled with recyclable delights left near the street, Archie wondered if there was a way to make Maxie feel better that didn't involve him getting so flustered.
They reached their apartment complex and the sound of people swimming in the recently cleaned, over-chlorinated pool was heard in the distance. Archie tapped Maxie on the shoulder and asked, "Do ya think you could talk to somebody about all of this?"
The two of them slowed as they entered the property. Maxie looked at Archie. "What?" he asked.
"Uhm, do ya wanna talk about Team Rocket?" Archie scratched his head. "I mean, more than what you already did…the parts you never talk about…is what I meant t'say?"
Maxie raised a brow. "I'm not sure what you're asking me?"
"I'm talkin' about you growin' up in Team Rocket," Archie answered. They made their way into the pool area. There were several people splashing in the water, and it looked as though they had invited their Pokémon to join in on the fun, even though there were specific rules about Pokémon being in the pool. Considering Archie could detect the subtle, chemical scent of chlorine, he almost wanted to go over and bring it up with the owners.
But Maxie was upset, and he was going to be a good boyfriend and try to coax a few good words out of the redhead.
"Ya know just about everythin' when I was in Team Rocket," Archie continued, whispering as they passed by crowded scene. "And ya did a great job at listenin'." He watched Maxie retrieve his keys, not showing any sign that he was bothered. "I just figured I'd return the favor."
"Archie." Maxie began to unlock the door. "You're not the first person I've spoken to about such matters." He opened the door. "I just…sometimes I let small, insignificant things get to me. And I need to learn to let them go, otherwise I end up–"
And then Maxie stopped. Archie wondered what was up, but then he entered the apartment and saw Maxie staring at the broken television screen. Archie placed his backpack down on the floor and rested a hand on Maxie's shoulder, giving the man a good shake.
"There's nothin' wrong with gettin' a little upset," he said. "Remember when ya talked about experiences before?"
Maxie shrugged. "It was brand new."
"Ok, ok, so ya fucked up." Archie went and faced Maxie. "But at least ya learned yer limitations, right?"
"Katelyn though I lost it," Maxie muttered. Archie watched his boyfriend look back over at the television screen. "And she was right. I did get a little crazy. Whenever I think about what a waste we've let our kind become, I just break." He shook his head. "We've come so far, and yet we still retain this unusual hive mind mentality that makes us to easy so control…"
"We're no different than Pokémon," Archie said. "C'mon, stop starin' at it, you'll only upset yerself more." He smiled. "And things change. Yerself, for example."
Maxie frowned. "I still broke it."
"I know, I know," Archie replied. "But that doesn't mean ya can't go out and fix it."
"No, the repairman said I was better off purchasing a new one," Maxie corrected him.
"Yes, well," Archie snickered. "I can't very well have ya replaced now, can I?"
Maxie rolled his eyes and removed himself from Archie.
Archie stood, watching Maxie sit himself down on the couch, eyes still on the broken television, looking almost lost in thought as he held on to his glasses, his fingers playing with the frame.
"Hey," Archie said. He sat himself down right next to Maxie. "What cha thinkin' about?"
Maxie turned slightly at Archie. "I wish I understood myself better."
"Why's that?"
"I already mentioned that once we can fully comprehend each other, that all those boundaries and differences start to matter less," Maxie said. "When you can make sense of another person, suddenly whatever made them so strange is no longer present. You understand how they've become who they are, and that point onward it's a matter of meeting halfway and working to make things better for another, and then the rest of society, and finally…"
"Everybody," Archie finished.
Maxie's face lit up. "Exactly." He placed his glasses on the table. "But although I'm capable of deconstructing and piecing together many things, I find that I get so overly emotional about small things." He pressed himself against the couch. "I don't know why I do the things I do sometimes."
"Yer upset." Archie relaxed into his half of the couch. Maxie watched his every move, and Archie noticed the man's cool fingers touching his own, trying to collect them and pull them in. "And no matter what ya do, what kind of cool thinkin' ya got up in there, nothin's gonna change the fact that bad things happened, and yer only a human." He patted Maxie on the head. "And I ain't about to replace ya, so chill out!"
Maxie blushed and proceeded to swat Archie's hand away. The man laughed, pulling his arm in as Maxie readjusted his hair behind his ears.
"Thanks," Maxie muttered. "I mean that."
"No problem," Archie replied, grinning over at the redhead. "Ya wanna talk about Team Rocket right now?"
"Well…"
"Let's get rid of that extra stress before we go out and get that expensive coffee," Archie continued to suggest.
It amazed him how quick Maxie could go from looking bothered to esthetic. The man bent over, resting on his hands while looking out, not at the television, but at something Archie didn't see. Something that made Maxie happy.
"You're quite the boyfriend," Maxie said.
"I'm tryin'," Archie replied, chuckling while resting his hand on his knees. "And yer a great guy, and I really wanna return the favor."
Maxie smirked, nudging himself closer to Archie. "You're a natural at this," he said. Something about his voice sounded off. Lower. Smoother.
"Is that good?"
"Very." He felt Maxie's hands rest on his own. Ok, so they were going to kiss. Archie figured. This was definitely one of those moments where a kiss was warranted. And the stare Maxie was giving him suggested that it was probably going to be a really long one too. That was cool. That meant he did a good job. That meant that Maxie might want to talk about Team Rocket later, once they were done with the make out session.
Archie held his smirk when Maxie pressed his lips against his. A funny little kiss. His smile sort of ruined it, but Archie was feeling pretty good about where the conversation had headed. Maxie didn't seem to mind, and continued. His hands moved up and wrapped themselves around Archie.
Well, alright. This was going to be a long kiss. But Maxie made his lips tickle, and Maxie was just trying to express his appreciation, and he really liked to kiss, so Archie moved himself just enough for him to get comfortable in his seat and let the redhead have at it. It didn't take long for Archie to find himself beaming at the attention given, even though it made the kiss all the more awkward. It was a good thing Maxie knew how to work around it. The man lowered himself and brought his lips to Archie's lower one, pressing, sucking, and letting his teeth press against it just enough to inform Archie that Maxie was really into it. It felt pretty good, even the parts where he nipped. At least he wasn't full on biting.
Maxie's arms then grew tired of embracing. Archie noticed this when he felt the man's long finger's curl into the fabric of his shirt, and that might have been nothing more than just a result of passion getting out of hand, but then there was this shaking coming off from Maxie's arms, and then Archie noticed that Maxie was getting pretty warm, and the kiss had ended, and all the two were doing now was staring at each other like two idiots afraid to talk.
And then Maxie grinned at him. "My room," he said. He got up from Archie, and there was a wave of cool air washing between newly found space. Archie couldn't help but analyze the situation, Maxie's body, his own, the sudden invitation to Maxie crowded little room, and came to the conclusion that the kiss was just the beginning of a long series of events.
Maxie pulled Archie the rest of the way up. "Have you done it before?" he asked, sounding almost out of breath. "With another man?"
"Well, yeah," he began, "There were those times in the office…" He felt Maxie's hand latch on to his and pull him in the direction of the hall.
"Office?"
He followed Maxie. "You make it sound like a bad thing."
"Hmm," Maxie went on. Archie's hand was gripped tighter.
They made their way to Maxie's room, the redhead rushing and tripping over his steps. Archie found it commendable. He was still trying to catch up. Not literally, because Maxie made sure he was less than a step away, but Archie's mind was still on the kiss, how it had felt, how he had earned it, and why that was so nice.
The room was so small. Where would his clothes go? Maxie didn't like messes, but now he was told to just kick off his shoes anywhere he pleased. And the shirt would go wherever it landed. Archie watched it fall next to the tiny bookshelf by the closet. Maxie's fingers fumbled as he struggled to remove his own shirt. This almost felt a little rushed.
Not a bad rushed! Sex did feel nice. That was something to look forward to.
"How are we doing this?"
It felt good right now. Maxie's hands were all over him, touching and grabbing him and somehow knowing when to be delicate, when to hold on, how long to linger before letting go and moving on to the next spot.
Maybe Maxie was a mind reader.
"What?" Archie was still trying to catch up to it. His body felt warm, and everything felt pretty sensitive, but he was still waiting to look as silly and feel as enthusiastic as Maxie did.
Maxie huffed. "You know." His eyes lowered down at Archie's midsection, and then slowly rose back up to show off that desperate, excited look. "Top or bottom?"
They were right next to the bed. Maxie's made up bed.
The heat coming off of Maxie was intense enough for Archie to not really notice that his shirt was missing. Or care. In fact, with them both being topless, and Maxie so warm and looking antsy and breathing so hard and fast, Archie thought it would be unfair to suggest that he top. And what on earth would he do if he did anyways? He hadn't done that since he was sixteen, and that worked out so well between him and Stevie. And Maxie already knew how to touch him in order to spark a positive response. It would be better to let Maxie take the lead while he still tried to figure things out.
"Yer lookin' pretty eager," he pointed out, smiling at the redhead.
Maxie grinned. "You've no idea," he hummed, finger's gripping tightly on to Archie's pants. His red eyes rested on Archie's body. "Having you right here. Touching you."
Archie chuckled. "Well, if it's touchin' ya want, I'm totally fine with that too."
Maxie shook his head. "If you're trying to get me to laugh, you're doing a terrible job."
But he was smiling? Archie wished he could make some sense of it. The smile helped. Maxie looked a lot nicer when he smiled. Yes, it would be better if Maxie did top, cause then Archie could get a good view of Maxie having fun. It might be easier to catch up and enjoy it if he could see how much Maxie was into it.
Archie kissed him on the forehead. "Be gentle," he warned. "I'm a delicate flower."
He heard Maxie snort. "I'll try to," he said through a covered mouth.
XXX
He expected Maxie might go and kiss him again, like they did in the movies, but instead the redhead went back to undoing his bottom, asking Archie to remove them, and then doing the same with his own. Archie wasn't sure what to do with his boxers. Did Maxie want to remove them himself? Should he ask–
Maxie pushed him right on to the edge of the bed, kissing him again. Well, that answered that question. Archie stuttered, feeling too ticklish and hot, and Maxie was making it worse with him kissing his neck, and holding on to him, fingers gripping tight to the band of his underwear. Ok, so Maxie was the guy who liked to yank off boxers. Archie would remember that. Maxie was also the kind of guy who liked to suck neck for a while. And bury his hands behind his back, sliding them down, further, and grab him by the cheeks. And squeeze them, hard.
"H-hey," Archie stammered. "Watch it down there…"
He heard a soft laugh. "Right, delicate flower." He immediately eased his grip.
"That's better." Archie relaxed a bit.
"Anything else I should know?" Maxie asked, raising his head up and staring at Archie with some concern.
He shrugged. "I'm not too big on bellybutton play?"
Maxie laughed again. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."
Archie wasn't sure if he should be worried. Maxie was getting pretty low. His hands were right in his legs. No, now just one of them. Archie stared up at the ceiling, cracking a smile when he felt the other grabbed hold of his penis and begin to stroke it. Maxie was going at his lower half, being a good boy and staying away from the bellybutton, leaving his marks elsewhere, hand gripping Archie's developing erection, the other keeping a leg in place.
"Move up." Maxie's breath on his lower stomach made concentrating hard. Archie grabbed on to the covers and moved up the bed. Maxie didn't follow. He stood up and stared out into his room, looking around for something. "Where did I leave it?" he muttered.
Archie was hot. He was cold in all the placed Maxie had been, but he was also unbelievably hot. While Maxie had his eureka moment and went over to one of the drawers at his desk, Archie remained on the bed, staring at himself, feeling relieved that, physically, he was reacting the way he should, but still wondering when he'd be at the same mental state.
He heard Maxie utter a low chuckle. Archie turned and saw the man tearing off the wrapper to a condom.
"What?" he asked.
"You look nice," Maxie casually answered. Archie watched him tug away at his boxer-briefs, exposing the rest of his naked body. "And I can't help but like it. A lot."
He kicked off his underwear. Archie wanted to call it un-Maxie like. But then, this was as close to the real Maxie as he could get. He had seen the man without a shirt, had made jokes about playing "connect-the-dots" once. And now Maxie was without any sort of clothes, and Archie could play a rousing game that would last a few hours. Maxie was pretty thin. Not as bony as he had always figured, but lean enough for him to make out some bottom ribs and pronounced hipbones. Maxie did have some muscle. Not a lot, but enough. And hair. He was definitely a redhead.
"You want to know what I like about it?" Maxie asked him while placing the condom over his erect penis. He stood there, not looking the least bit concerned over his exposed body. Archie was reminded of his own, how it seemed to be working at a different pace than the rest of him, and then felt just a little envious over Maxie's confidence.
Archie blushed. Maybe a nice, in depth game of flattery would put him in the mood. "Sure," he said. "Why not?"
"It's large," Maxie started, grabbing the bottle he had taken from the drawer. He walked over to the bed, still grinning at Archie.
"What's large?"
"Everything," the man answered. He opened the bottle and proceeded to pour a liberal amount of lube into his hand. "Your muscles, your figure, and everything about it…" He spread it across his covered erection, and then laughed a bit. "And yes, I like your big cock too."
Archie hadn't even though to ask about that. "What else?" he asked.
"Your face," Maxie continued, crawling his way over to Archie. "And between your face, and that body, we have a man that can look so fierce, threatening if need be."
Archie moved, making space for Maxie to get in between him.
"When you have your bandana on, and there's just enough lighting, and someone passing by might think you're about to take a bite out of them," Maxie continued. "It's hot…Spread your legs a bit more, will you? Relax."
He was getting nervous. Maxie was right on top of him. There was one finger. "S-so ya like that I look vicious?" Archie asked. Was that really hot? It was a legitimate question. Archie didn't really think himself fierce. Or threatening.
"Yes, but, " Maxie bit his tongue, staring down at Archie, inserting another finger. "Do you really want to know what I like most of all?" The fingers curled. Archie wanted to laugh. He wanted to grab Maxie each time those fingers made a "come hither" motion.
He struggled to nod his head. "Yeah."
"The moment you smile," Maxie said, blushing, "it all just crumbles apart. And suddenly I'm left staring at this adorable fool who's baby-talking to a Mightyena, laughing at the dumb jokes he attempting to tell me, or just trying to get me to sit down for five minutes and eat breakfast."
Archie had to cover his face to hide his reaction from Maxie. It was too much.
"Like right now," the redhead laughed, making things worse.
"Aw, geez, Max," Archie groaned. The way the fingers moved inside of him made Archie want to squirm and kick up his legs. His body was aching for more. His mind reeled. Maxie was such a loser. He removed his hand and stared up at the redhead. "I never took ya fer someone who'd ever say somethin' so…"
"Dumb?" Maxie finished. Archie nodded his head. Maxie shrugged, incapable of coming up with a response. Finally, Maxie was stuck. And Archie was feeling better. Nervous, but loads better after hearing something so stupid come from someone so confident.
His mind still felt like it was miles away from the rest of his body, but at least he could laugh. At least there had been more prepping than the last time. And talking. And stupid things. The bed was a nice addition. Archie had never done it on a bed before.
These thoughts began to sink in. Maxie removed his fingers and asked him if he needed more lube. He asked if he was ready. He was going to put it in.
Archie wondered if maybe he should take up that offer to see a counselor.
"Are you alright? Archie?" Maxie sounded worried; Archie pulled himself out of it.
"I'm fine." Shit. Maxie was right. Nothing was normal. "I'm just…"
"Afraid it'll hurt?"
That was certainly something to consider. But that wasn't what had been bothering him.
"No," he replied. He reached out and let his hand rest itself against Maxie's chest. "I'll tell ya later."
"Are you sure?"
"It's not really bed talk." Archie smiled up at the redhead. "And it's something you'll definitely want t'hear…" He watched Maxie's eyebrows lower, and his mouth forming a small pout. Archie brought himself to laugh. "Seriously, Maxie, it's gonna be ok. I'm gonna be ok…I'm not that delicate."
Maxie didn't seem to trust this claim. It was flattering.
"Yer a great guy." The words flew right out without any sort of thought to them.
And it had done the trick, because Maxie stopped looking down at him like he was afraid he might hurt him (Archie was still feeling pretty spoiled about having witnessed it), and he repositioned himself, hoisting Archie's legs up some and spreading them enough for Maxie to get close in-between. He grabbed his penis and pressed it against Archie's entrance, pushing his way in without much effort.
Archie winced. There were a few seconds of discomfort. He remained as relaxed as possible, letting Maxie go in as far as he needed, and the pain began to subside and get replaced with something fuller and warmer.
"Feeling alright down there?" Maxie asked.
They were so close and being stuck underneath it all made Archie feel like he was burning up. But Maxie didn't hurt, and that concerned voice only made Archie want to look away or cover his face to hide his pleased smile.
"I told ya I wasn't that delicate," he answered back, sticking it tongue out in the processes.
"We'll see," Maxie replied back. Archie rolled his eyes at him. "Let me know if I'm moving too quickly."
Archie wanted to comment on that, but he wasn't sure how to explain it. Body wise he was feeling pleasant. Maxie was going deep inside of him. He kept rubbing that spot. It made him full, heavy, and weak. And Maxie's hand kept stroking his penis at a consistent pace. It made his stomach tight and coil.
Archie brought himself closer to Maxie, reaching out and grabbing the man's shoulder, lifting himself up and relying on his other arm to bear some of the weight. Maxie dove in and kissed him on the lips. Good aim. Archie was impressed. And while Maxie kissed him his movement grew weaker, distracted with all the mouth attention. Archie figured Maxie might have wanted to keep pushing into him at the same rate, maybe faster. But then, Maxie was something of a romantic, if he was being honest about the whole smile thing. And now Archie wanted to laugh, but couldn't because Maxie wouldn't stop making his entire body so weak and sensitive. The kiss broke. Archie inhaled through his mouth and was shocked by how cold the air was.
He was hot. His mind was trying to figure out how he got here. Archie kept staring up and holding on. He let his mouth hang open so Maxie could hear him react to every thrust, pull, kiss, squeeze, and touch the man was providing him. He thought the sounds he was making were strange, and he focused on how red Maxie's pupils were, how red his face was, his red hair dropping down and creating a veil, and how red everything else was getting.
"Good?"
He did feel good. He was getting close to excellent. "Y-yeah."
It was impossible to ignore every move Maxie made against him. The deeper he went, the harder it was. Archie's lower stomach was turning into lava. It was wet. Maxie wouldn't let go of him. They were burning up, and it was wet. He wanted to wipe himself dry. Maxie kept trying to get closer and play with his hair, face, messy chin, and those damn fingers left a mark that remained in Archie's mind for some time.
XXX
It was like a warm, long hug. It wasn't the best hug in the world. Archie was sure he could get just as decent hugs from reuniting with an old friend, or family. He remembered his mom giving him hugs that made him feel safe and loved.
That's what sex was. It was a very long embrace between two good people.
And when Maxie was done he dropped down and hugged Archie some more, not minding the mess they made, and letting his arms wrap around their moist bodies, pushing out his lips and blowing red hairs out of the way with quick breaths. Archie lifted a heavy arm and let it rest on top of Maxie's back, his body shaking tiredly as he detected how hard the redhead's heart beat against the palm of his hand.
With his body finishing and coming to a staggering halt, it didn't take long for his mind, lightheaded and trapped in a clouded haze, to stumble, but catch up with the rest of him.
Maxie asked him how he felt.
Archie let his exhausted mind take its time with an answer.
Better than the last time. At least he comprehended why he had struggled with some things. He supposed after the second or third try he'd understand better. And he'd know what sorts of things Maxie was into, and where to make him go crazy, like he had done with him.
Two red eyes peered down at him, desperate for an answer.
He grinned. "I'm good," he whispered.
"You sure?" Maxie muttered into his chest. His body was still sensitive. It tickled too much for comfort.
"Well," Archie replied, feeling his grin expand some. "I think ya bruised one of my petals, so–"
The embrace ended with Maxie's hand covering Archie's mouth and nose in a failed attempt to smother him.
"Hey, bro!" Archie stared at the phone's recording machine, watching the red light flash as he listened to Matt's message. "I printed up those flyers for your club, and I figured I'd do you the favor of posting a few of them around the neighborhood. Y'know, make thing easier on your side."
Archie grinned at the flashing machine.
"Anyways, I was thinking," Matt's voice continued without pause. "Everything you said about the ocean and marine biology? That was cool." Archie nodded his head. "Well, Tiffany and I are gonna visit her folks over in Dewford, and I figured I owed you one, so we were wondering if you wanted to come along?"
Archie had never been to Dewford. The boat tickets were costly.
"There are killer waves, and a cave not too far from the reservation!" Matt's recording went on. "So you can bring your boyfriend. It'd be like a double date. Hey, maybe we could do a double battle with each other!"
"Aww. That's precious," Archie said aloud.
"What on earth are you prattling on about?" Maxie voice intervened.
Archie stared at the man making his way into the living room, holding two Poké Balls in his hand.
"Oh, just Matt." Archie pressed the pause button. "He was talkin' about takin' a trip to Dewford." He walked over to Maxie. "I think we should give it a go."
"Maybe," the redhead replied, smiling at Archie. "First things first: we need to take out the Pokémon." He released the Poochyena and Mightyena from within their confines. The larger of the two trotted over to its owner, jumping up at Maxie and trying to reach up and give him some affection.
Maxie groaned, trying to push off his large Pokémon. "Archie!"
"On it," Archie announced, hurrying over and grabbing the leashes hanging by the door. He called his Poochyena over and secured its leash before hurrying over and doing the same to Mightyena. He pulled the larger dark Pokémon down and gave it a quick scolding, letting his boyfriend recover and wipe his face clean.
"You want me to walk this one today?" Archie asked, pressing his hand against the feisty Pokémon's head. It growled, trying to get past his hand. Archie wouldn't let it.
"Feeling energetic?" he heard Maxie comment.
"I'm feeling pretty good right now," Archie replied, making faces at both Pokémon.
"Well, I'm feeling rather pleased myself," Maxie added. "I'm certainly not as stressed as before." He reached into his pocket, but then stopped from pulling out whatever was inside. He stared up at Archie.
"Thank you," he muttered.
"Consider doin' the same…when yer ready fer it."
Maxie pulled out a folded sheet of paper and handed it to Archie. "There are several numbers on that list," he said. "A few from the Psychology department. Others from certain organizations, including the Gay-Straight Alliance."
Archie began to unfold the paper. Maxie stopped him.
"Don't let it bother you right now." Maxie held on to his hand and brought it down. "Look at it later, when you're ready to make an appointment, alright?"
Archie nodded his head. "Sure," he beamed. He stuffed the sheet into his pocket, and then handed Maxie the leash to his Poochyena.
"I'm glad how the day turned out," Maxie said, looking at him with another silly face. It took a second, but Archie realized he was smiling and wasn't wearing his bandana, and Maxie thought this was the greatest thing in the world.
He reached out and pulled the redhead up close to him. "Me too."
Things would really start coming together in time.