This is a 'sequel' kind of fic, not to another fic but to the episode "Sweet Baby James". If you haven't seen the episode, it's online, so go look it up!
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Jessie and Meowth smiled at each other as James waved sadly back at his chimecho. The two assumed that James had forgiven them and that the trio could go back to their normal lives of chasing twerps until James turned around swiftly with anger evident in his eyes.
"I expect a complete apology."
Jessie and Meowth were absolutely shocked. Not only did James rarely show anger, but he never bossed them around. He knew the dangers of messing with Jessie, and Meowth was afraid to see her reaction. As expected, she started to boil with anger, and Meowth noted that this argument probably wasn't ending in an apology from either side.
"For WHAT?" Jessie screeched at her partner.
James scoffed indignantly. "I shouldn't have to answer that, Jessica." He smirked when she flinched slightly. "You - both of you - promised. You guys promised to behave! You stole from the only two people in my family I can trust!"
Every word sent another batch of anger down Jessie's spine.
"I thought you two were my friends, I thought you'd respect my wishes - especially when poor Chimecho was so sick - but no!" He threw his hands in the air in frustration. "You two HAD to be bad! You had to steal the pokemon! You-"
"Shut up, James."
Meowth felt the urge to join in this argument, but Jessie's face told him otherwise. Even James looked serious about this, and when James was serious...
"No, Jessie. I won't shut up." James stepped towards his partner. "Because you wouldn't stop stealing pokemon for just a day, I won't stop talking for even a minut-"
"Excuse me, "Lil' James", but I was just doing my job!" Jessie screamed out at him. "Unlike you, Meowth and I don't have rich families and relatives to visit when things aren't going well! This job is all I have! And I need to be good at it, I can't get soft-hearted like you just because a pokemon gets sick!"
James backed up a bit. He hadn't expected Jessie to react like this, and guilt immediately overcame him.
"So if you have a problem, then go back to your stupid Nanny and Pop-pop!" Jessie ignored the fact that she was on the verge of tears - she wasn't used to being angry about something serious like this. "They'll accept you no matter what, because, unlike me, you...you have people who love you and a home to go back to! You don't have to be out here stealing pokemon!"
James stared at his feet. That comment hit close to home, literally. He knew Jessie didn't have parents or siblings or anything, and Meowth was just an alley cat who managed to learn 'human'. James was...a spoiled rich boy who was tired of his life. And no matter how annoying they were, no matter how much he wanted to get rid of them, his parents and the rest of his family would accept him back without hesitation if he returned.
Jessie shouted a frustrated "Argh!" before plopping onto the floor of the hot-air balloon's basket, leaving a stunned Meowth and a guilty James to ponder what she'd said.
Meowth was shocked over Jessie's outburst. He was used to her standing up for herself, but this time she stood up for him, too! Meowth felt touched, but Jessie was in a horrible mood and he could see what looked like tears welling up in her eyes. He looked over at James, who had slouched into a sitting position as well, but hadn't taken his eyes off his feet.
"...you're right."
Jessie scowled at James' words - oh, realization, thank God! She didn't look over at him, the image of her partner turning the balloon around so he could leave Team Rocket forever was plastered in her mind, and she felt horrible. She didn't regret what she'd said - it was all true - but she hoped James wouldn't take her advice.
"I'm sorry, Jessie."
Her eyes widened and she finally turned to look at James, who was staring at his feet still. Jessie felt lucky that he wasn't looking, because she knew a teardrop finally fell.
"I'm sorry you don't think anyone loves you." Well, he couldn't very well apologize for being loaded and having a family to go back to, that wasn't his doing. James' body shivered at the realization of what he might say next. "But it's not true, Jess. It's just not true." He finally lifted his head from the floor, and tried his hardest to ignore the wet spot on her cheek that she quickly wiped off. "I - Meowth and I...we love you, and even if it's just us...it's all the love in the world..."
Jessie blushed slightly and avoided James' gaze; it was loving, caring, truthful. She desperately wanted to run over to the blue-haired man and squeeze him tighter than ever before, but held the urge. She was supposed to be angry at him, angry.
Meowth stared at James who was looking intently at Jessie's profile, and the cat sighed. This was a pretty bad argument - Jessie had even started to cry! Speaking of, the cat looked over at Jessie, who had closed her eyes and hugged her knees to her forehead.
The silence lingered in the balloon for at least a half an hour before Jessie spoke again.
"...would you actually rather die than marry me?"
The question shocked everybody, including Jessie herself, whose face was pinker than usual and whose eyes never looked over at her partner. Meowth suddenly felt awkward and started going through one of their bags to see what they had to eat, ignoring the two. James' face turned redder when he thought of how to phrase his answer.
"...no."
Jessie stilfed a laugh at the simplicity of James' answer. She smiled and looked back at him, and their eyes locked. They both smiled at and for each other, and James held out his hand.
It was complete deja vu, back to the time when Jessie thought James had left her and Meowth for Jessibelle, money, and luxery. But Jessie didn't want it to end the same way.
She grabbed his hand and instead of keeping the grip there, pulled herself over to James, wrapping her arms around his neck. She could tell he was taken aback by the sudden bout of affection - she couldn't blame him - but he quickly wrapped his arms around her torso to match. Jessie laid her head on his chest and smiled even wider than before, squeezing him tighet at the feel of his gloves against her back.
James took a bold move and placed a soft kiss on his partner's head, blushing fiercely in the process. He stared down at her face: peaceful and unmoving, and he kissed her head again.
Jessie only squeezed tighter, enjoying the feel of James' lips at the top of her forehead.
"Geez, youse two, get a room, why dontcha?"
James and Jessie both frowned and glared at their feline partner. Red as tomatoes, they both smacked him and shouted his name, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get that moment back. Meowth chuckled at their faces, and James sighed before sitting back down, his back against the wall of the balloon basket. Jessie, after smacking Meowth again, sat down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder before feeling herself drifting off to sleep.
James opened one eye to see Jessie's breathing become even, and he placed one more kiss on her - her cheek, this time - before falling asleep himself.
Meowth took a bite from the sandwich he'd snagged and chuckled to himself again.
-end-
huh i actually dont hate this YAY
sorry it was so short
