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This was a bad idea. It was a bad idea and Maxie Matsubusa knew it too. And yet here he was, standing in front of a well worn door in the middle of the Team Aqua base. Grunts in striped shirts mumbled to themselves as they watched the former Magma leader stand there, completely stoic.
He nearly destroyed the world. And yet, here he was.
Tired eyes stared at the grey of the door. The color of his hair was fading and the wrinkles on his face were growing all the more apparent. The past few months have been merciless to the former leader and it showed. Despite it all, there was one thing weighing down on him the most. Such a weight would bring any man to his knees, and while it was close, Maxie refused to kneel. His heart raced against his chest and he tightened his fists behind his back.
He needed to do this.
With a long inhale, Maxie knocked on the door.
Perhaps he wasn't going to be in his office? If that was the case then Maxie could go home and say that he tried. Perhaps he would slam the door right in his face? In that case, Maxie would make the same reasoning. He tried. He tried and Archie rejected him. That was the only thing he planned for, honestly. He was doomed from the start after everything he has done. After everything he has put Archie through.
His breath was caught in his throat when he watched the knob turn, the latch making the loudest click he had ever heard. The door opened and there he was. After everything Maxie had put him through, Archie looked tired. Graying hairs poked through the hair his bandanna didn't cover up and some parts of his beard. The stress that came from creating or stopping a cataclysmic event but plenty of age on both of them. Archie's blue eyes widened in surprise when he saw the redhead on the other side. Maxie had to clench his fists to keep his nerves from rattling his body.
All of the words that Maxie had planned to say jumped out of his brain as soon as Archie opened the door, leaving him standing there like a complete fool. He was trapped in the world's most awkward staring contest until Archie broke it. He leaned against the doorway. No matter the emotion, Archie was always an open book. Right now though, Maxie couldn't quite put his finger on what was going through that head of his.
"Maxie, what are-"
"We need to talk!" Maxie interrupted, his words bursting out of his mouth without even him realizing it until the last syllable escaped. He coughed into his fist and straightened himself up, trying to reclaim what little dignity he had left. "We need to talk," he repeated, this time much calmer.
"I'm listening."
Maxie took a quick glance over his shoulder to see the grunts watching the show unfolding right in front of them before turning his gaze back to Archie. "Alone, if you will."
There was a long moment where Archie didn't move. No taunts left his lips either. Instead, he was mulling over it. He pushed himself off of the doorway and gestured for Maxie to step in. With his heart racing against his chest, Maxie stepped in and Archie closed the door.
Archie's office, while not as perfect as Maxie's former office, was kept in nice condition. However, Maxie had no time to admire the fact that Archie labeled his drawers and kept his abandoned jackets off the floor and piled onto a chair like any sane human being.
"What do ya want, Maxie?"
Maxie opened his mouth to speak but no words dared to come out. Only a faint croak. This was much harder than he had expected, and he had already figured that this was by no means going to be an easy task. Another cough. Another chance.
"I...was wrong to tell you what was true." Archie blinked in surprise. A pebble was lifted from the weight on Maxie's shoulders. "About Team Magma, about Groudon, about my goals, about us. I should have been a normal person for once in my life and let my fantasies stay as fantasies. Who in the world would have spent years upon years trying to awaken an ancient beast that was ultimately going to end the world, but I know I'm a special case. I'm a victim of my pride. There's a reason why pride is one of the deadliest of sins, I suppose. And...I know that I don't deserve a happy ending. I know that I belong to all I've been through. And yet, despite it all, I...I long to be beside of you."
Now it was Archie's turn to be speechless. He had no idea how to react, but fortunately for him, Maxie wasn't finished. With his heart racing and his vocal box wound up, he had plenty more to say.
"I suppose...I came to ask for a second chance. I won't dance if you say yes and I won't kneel until you do come to an agreement. Rather...I want to know if there is any possible way we both can heal from this. I don't want to spend the rest of our lives fighting, Archie. I want to move on, even if that means I have to travel with the burdensome weight of my sins still strapped to my back."
Again, Maxie couldn't put his finger on what in the world Archie was thinking. His tired eyes were lost in thought. This was a bad idea. Maxie eyed the door. He only had an ounce of dignity left, so there was no shame in running out the door right here and now to avoid Archie's answer.
Archie stepped forward and Maxie's eyes snapped back to him. He almost backed away, but he couldn't fold, couldn't lose, and as much as he felt like it, couldn't cry.
"Maxie...do you know why I started Team Aqua?"
Maxie blinked at the question, unsure how to respond at first. "To prevent me from destroying the world?"
"Partially." Archie shrugged before slowly reaching out to take Maxie's hand into his own. His fist was unable to unclench. "I wanted to always be with ya, Max. I wanted to get ya back, 'cause I knew that ya were just a slave to that lonely pride of yours. Either that or being possessed by Groudon. It was a toss up there for a while." For the first time, Archie smile slightly at his poor attempt of a joke to lighten their spirits. "And I guess in a way, I belong to all I've been through too. I had so many chances to stop ya but I just...couldn't bring myself to do it. I couldn't bring myself to battle ya with all I got."
"Why was that?" Maxie asked quietly, as if he was afraid of the answer.
"Well...I could never bring myself to see ya like the monster everyone said ya were. All I saw was the guy I fell in love with and couldn't fall out of love with even with Shelly's late night mediocre therapy sessions."
"She has never rooted for us, now has she?"
"Not once."
Maxie didn't know why, but a small laugh left his lips. It was followed with one of Archie's. Maxie squeezed the hand holding his, his tired eyes had a hint of hope in them. Hope that was quickly extinguished by pain. He had ruined not only his life but also Archie's. Archie dedicated his years to getting Maxie back while Maxie learned to loathe his former lover. Maxie asked for a second chance and Archie was ready to accept it.
Maxie pulled his hand away. He couldn't do this to Archie.
He felt his hand grabbed again, and before he could pull it away his body was pulled in for a warm embrace. An embrace he forgot felt so nice. A hand found its way underneath his chin and forced his head to look up. Any and all protest was ceased when Archie placed his lips on Maxie's. He forgot just how nice that felt as well. He wanted to back away. He wanted to run. And yet, here he was, melting into Archie's warm embrace as if nothing had happened during all of those years of separation.
The emotions running through Maxie were overwhelming. He wanted to cry. He wanted to jump with joy. He wanted to be mad at Archie for being so goddamn patient. It might have been his racing heart rate that made his head much lighter than it should be. His knees buckled and without Archie there to lean on, he most certainly would have fallen to the ground. Archie squeezed him tighter as Maxie tried to recover and find his footing.
"What happened to ya not kneelin'?" Archie joked, earning him a playful smack.
"Quite honestly, I underestimated how much weight would disappear." He reached up and wrapped his thin, jacketed arms around Archie's neck. "I also didn't expect for you to give me something to hold."