Work Text:
“This is it! The most beautiful night sky in Hoenn!”
The two were on Route 120. The air was surprisingly warm for a night where it had just rained, and the clouds were quickly scattering, revealing clusters of stars that brightly flickered across the sky.
“It’s all right,” was Archie’s response.
“All right?” May put her hands on her hips. “Do you really not appreciate anything that’s not in the sea? You could just stare at their reflection in this puddle, then!”
She was honestly disappointed at his response. She thought back to her very first visit to this route, thinking it was the most beautiful sight ever, and secretly wishing that Archie could be there with her.
“There’s too much light pollution.”
“All the way out here?”
“Lilycove’s a 15 minute walk from here,” he noted.
“That’s still pretty far-“ she started to say, but then noticed that she could faintly see the city lights even from this distance. “Dammit Archibald, why did you have to ruin this for me?”
“Sorry, scamp!” he said with a laugh. “Listen. If you wanna see a real night sky, I’ll show you tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Show up at the docks near the hideout at 6 and I’ll show you.”
***
Her jaw dropped when she saw the sailboat right outside the hideout.
It was bigger than any sailboat she’d ever seen. Cooler-looking, too, as it was painted with a dark blue and black pattern.
“Scamp!” Archie yelled from the boat. “Check it out! This is my baby!”
“Impressive!” she shouted back, running up to the edge of the dock next to the boat. “But how do I get on?”
“Oh, just jump right here, on the deck!” he said as he walked towards the edge of the boat, holding his hands out. “Don’t worry, I’ll help ya!”
She was afraid the boat would tip over as she jumped, but it only rocked a little as her feet hit the deck, hands interlocked with his.
“Perfect night for sailing!” he beamed with excitement as they walked into the boat, still holding hands. “I’ll say we’ll be back at 9. Just hope ya don’t mind waiting to eat until then.”
“No, it’s fine,” she said, sitting down on the bench by the edge of the boat. “But where are we going exactly?”
“Far away,” he said as he began to hoist the sails. “Hope you’re not afraid of the dark!”
***
About 45 minutes in, they were a few miles past Sootopolis. The sun had long since set, leaving them almost in darkness. Archie had taught her to use the tiller to steer the boat, but she couldn’t see a thing ahead. To be honest, she was kind of scared.
“Archie,” she said quietly, “are we almost there?”
“Doing alright back there?” She noticed a red glow on his face. She quickly discovered that the source was a small screen attached to the boat with a map and tracking device. “Oh, by the way, you can come closer. It’s pretty straightforward from here on out, so you don’t need to turn as much.”
She walked close to him, grabbing his arm. “Sorry, it’s just… so dark out here.”
“Your eyes’ll adjust soon enough, don’t worry,” he said comfortingly. Her eyes could barely see him turn to smile at her. “That’s why this screen light is red, because red lights don’t cause as much light pollution.”
“Thanks for making me feel safe,” she said while nuzzling his arm.
“I brought you out here,” he said with a small laugh, “it’s my job! Hey, it’s a little too quiet out here, mind if I turn on the radio?”
“You can get a signal out here?”
“Modded this ship myself so she could do that!” he said as he pressed a button on the red screen-
I’VE HAD THE TIME OF MY LIFE, AND I’VE NEVER FELT THIS WAY BEFORE!
“Woah,” he laughed, turning the volume down. “I forgot, I let Matt have the boat a few days ago. He always has the radio on the 80s station.”
She giggled, knowing how much Matt loved his hair metal and 80s power ballads. “This station’s fine, though.”
“Sure thing, scamp!”
She saw a group of faint lights in the distance, probably Pacifidlog Town. She couldn’t believe they were really going this far. She sat down, looking out at the vast ocean surrounding them. Her eyes had adjusted more to the darkness, which gave her a little more comfort. She then felt a hand on her shoulder.
“Well,” his voice pierced the music. “Are you having the time of your life right now?”
“Shut up Archie!” she said as the song faded into their laughter and their laughter covered up the DJ’s voice.
“Hey, I didn’t force ya to come along!”
The DJ stopped talking and a synthesized chord played on the radio, followed by synthesized drums.
“I have to admit,” Archie said with a smile that May could definitely see more of now, “this song is kind of a guilty pleasure of mine.”
She smiled back as she stood up, meeting his gaze. The night definitely felt more comforting now.
So long
I’ve been looking too hard, I’ve been waiting too long
Sometimes I don’t know what I will find
I only know it’s a matter of time
When you love someone
When you love someone
May had become so entranced in the song and the lyrics that she barely noticed Archie offer his hand to her.
“Well?” he said slightly seductively. “Are you gonna give me this dance?”
All she could do was smile and nod as she took his hand.
As she felt his hand slip around her waist, she rested her head against his shoulder. No, she wasn’t a good dancer, but the movements came naturally to her. As she felt her hips moving with each beat, she let herself be engulfed by every sensation, his soft shirt fabric against her body, his salty and musky scent, his beard that brushed against the side of her head. She let the flush of warmth that naturally came to her whenever she was this close to him attack her entire body.
You’re so good
When we make love it’s understood
It’s more than a touch or a word we say
Only in dreams could it be this way
“You’re not too bad at this,” he said softly into her ear. “I could go at this for a while.”
“Archie,” she murmured. “This moment is perfect.”
Archie was clearly a better dancer than her. She had no idea if he had taken a class or something, or if this was somehow all natural to him, but even though it was a slow dance, she felt herself being swept away.
I’ve been waiting for a girl like you
To come into my life
All of a sudden, he stopped dancing.
“May,” he whispered. “We’re here. Look up at the sky.”
And she did.
An entire ocean of light, just above their heads. Way brighter than the sky last night.
“Here it is,” he said, leading her to the back of the boat. “This is how the night sky was meant to be seen.”
She was speechless. Not even in space did the sky look as beautiful as this. Still holding his hand, she continued to look up, taking in every single light, every single color.
“Archie,” she said when she could finally form coherent words. “You were right, once again.”
Archie sat down at the back of the boat, removing his shoes before letting his toes brush against the water. “I just knew you deserved to see a better night sky. Now sit here, next to me. Don’t worry, it’s completely safe.”
May obeyed, taking her shoes off and sitting next to him, letting his right arm drape across her shoulders. She dipped a foot in the ocean, screaming before yanking it back out.
“Cold!” was all she could scream. He simply laughed.
“It feels nice when you get used to it!” he responded, his feet now completely submerged. She decided to just take it one inch at a time.
“So,” she said, resting her head on his shoulder. She felt like she fit perfectly in this position next to him. “How did you discover this? I mean, how the sky’s so pretty out here.”
“My dad used to take me out on his boat when I was a kid,” he said, his head turning up to the sky. “We lived in Pacifidlog, so getting away from all the lights was easy. And the night sky there is really beautiful, too… being out here makes me really miss him.”
May had never heard Archie talk about his family. Not even briefly. Something about now knowing he had a father made her feel closer to him somehow.
“Your dad… is he dead?”
“Who knows?” he sighed. “He left me and mom when I was 8. Mom remarried 3 years later and moved us to Lilycove. Worst time of my life.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said, rubbing his back. “Sounds like you really liked him.”
“Archimedes Adriatido, my father. Coolest guy I’ve ever known. Haven’t seen him in twenty five years, and I still look up to him.”
The next several moments were filled with silence and cuddling. As she continued to lean into him with his arm around her, her eyes kept wandering back to the tiny specks of light in the sky. There was just so much out there. Their planet was so big, yet so small compared to all the stars out there. And the stars that they saw were just a small fraction of the universe.
Yet these two people, on this tiny boat, had managed to find each other.
“Archie,” she said, her voice soft, not wanting to break the tranquil silence. “Do you ever think about all that’s out there?”
“Of course,” he said. “Honestly… I think it’s comforting that there’s so much out there. It’s like… I dunno, another ocean in the sky.”
“Yeah… it’s nice from here. But when you’re actually out there…”
“Yeah,” he said, “you’ve been to space, haven’t you?”
“Yes,” she sighed, remembering the event with Rayquaza and Deoxys. “It was terrifying. I knew if I did anything wrong, I’d…”
“Stop,” he said as she felt him squeeze her harder. “I don’t wanna have to think about that!”
“Sorry,” she giggled nervously. “Just think about the fact that… I made it back here alive.”
“I know, and I’m grateful. You’re shivering, by the way.”
She hadn’t even noticed. She immediately lifted her feet out of the water, and made it back inside the boat. He followed.
“I’m so sorry,” he said as he put his shoes on. “I should’ve told you to dress warmer.”
“It’s fine, you’re all the warmth I need.”
Before he could react, she had wrapped her arms around his torso, hugging him tightly. He responded by placing his hands on her cold arms, rubbing them with the hopes of warming her. He eventually just hugged her back, as if she would disappear if he let go.
“Thank you so much for all of this,” she said, her voice partially muffled by his chest.
“It’s nothing,” he said as a hand moved up to cup her cheek, tilting her head to look into her eyes. “I’ve… actually been wanting to take you out here for a while.”
“Really?” she whispered. She felt her hands move down to his waist.
“Of course,” he whispered into her mouth as he softly kissed her.
She let herself drown in him once again. She breathed slowly through her nose as his lips danced around hers, tasting every inch of them. She felt herself become lightheaded as she surrendered to the passion. This. This was perfect. Everything about how their lips, no, their entire bodies, connected. It felt like it was meant to be. It felt like the universe had planned for these two to be born on the same planet, in the same lifetime, and were destined to meet like this.
It felt so right.
“Well,” he said the second they broke away. “Ready to go back?”
“I guess,” she sighed, nuzzling his chest, “but you’ll take me out here again, won’t you?”
“Why wouldn’t I?” he laughed as he kissed her on the forehead.
“Archie,” she said as their bodies disconnected. It was always so hard for her to say the words she was about to say, even though he had heard them several times before from her, even though now more than ever, she knew just how much she meant them.
“Yeah?” he said as he finished re-hoisting the sails.
“I love you.”
He smiled at her, the same way he did every time he heard her say it. “And I, you.”
And as they began their journey back to shore, both of them felt just how true that statement was, even more so after this night.