...Mondo's such a cutie-pie :D Sorry if I make him seem creepy at all.

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It was a good day.

James strolled along, whistling a happy tune as some wild pokemon ran by. He was smiling brightly; today had been absolutely wonderful! Not only did he, Jessie, and Meowth steal a truckload of pokemon earlier that day, but they even had enough money to have a decent meal with plenty left over! He felt excited: after meeting that stupid twerp, nothing had been going his or Jessie's way. But with perseverance and hard-work, they managed to get the job done.

Oh, and Mondo. Mondo always helped, too.

James smirked at the thought of the young boy. He was too young to be in Team Rocket, too innocent. The boy would've still been in high school if he'd kept up with his education. And he was a bright kid, James noted, so he could've gone far. Instead, he was thrown into the horrible future that is Team Rocket. James sighed, trying not to think about it. Today was a good day, not a day to be ruined with unpleasant thoughts about a child's destroyed future.

Speaking of, James' ears perked up at the sound of said boy's voice ahead of him. It sounded like he was talking to someone. James wondered who it could be, and tip-toed over, hiding in the bushes.

Oh, it was just Jessie.

But what were they talking about? Mondo looked pretty serious, but he was also blushing furiously. Jessie's face didn't show much, and she wasn't saying anything (that was surprising in itself). James stared, eyes squinted, trying to figure out what Mondo could've been saying that was so embarrassing but serious that even Jessie would be speechless.

He sucked in a large breath at the realization. Mondo was finally confessing to Jessie. Confessing the crush he'd had on her for the past three or four years that James noticed but Jessie didn't. Jessie assumed all young men should be red in the face around her. After all, she was the most beautiful woman on the planet. And apparently, she wasn't the only person who thought that way.

But really? Mondo, gaining the backbone to tell Jessie how he felt? James wasn't even sure how he felt about that. Of course he wasn't angry or sad, but he didn't feel happy either. He wanted to be happy for Mondo, but some nagging feeling in the back of his mind said, "He's got more guts than you."

James shook his head fiercely. He didn't have anything to confess to Jessie. Nothing of that sort, anyways. He did love Jessie, but he didn't think he was in love with her. James paused and stared absently towards the sky. "Well," he contradicted himself. "it's not like you know what being in love feels like, anyway."

Mondo started talking louder, which shoved James out of his thoughts. "Back to the show!" He felt a little horrible phrasing it that way, but was there really another word to describe it?

"M-Miss Jessie..." Mondo said nervously. "I-I've been thinking about something for a long time..."

James raised an eyebrow. Mondo had only known Jessie for three, maybe four years. How long had he known Jessie, ten years? Ouch.

"I know I'm young, but this feeling is real and it's..." he exhaled loudly. "...it's strong!"

Jessie still didn't say anything. James glared at the side of her head, wondering how a woman could be so completely ignorant.

"I-I'm in love with you, Miss Jessica!" Mondo finally blurted. "I have been, since I met you! You're beautiful, charming, intelligent...you're everything I could ever dream of!"

James really wasn't sure how to react. If Jessie could stand completely still through all of this, he should be able to, too, right?

"And I'm alright if you don't, er, reciprocate...my feelings," Mondo smiled sadly. "I see the way you look at Mr. James...I know you actually love him..."

James' face turned the color of Jessie's hair. Why wasn't she correcting the boy? She was just standing there! Absolutely nothing! James tried not to think about what Mondo had just said, since obviously it didn't phase Jessie in the least. Jessie...in love with him? The thought was...surprisingly pleasant. More surprising than pleasant though, seeing the way she treated him half the time. Not that he and Jessie weren't good friends, it's just that...love? For a second, James thought it might be some weird cardboard cut-out or something. But she was moving and breathing; it was Jessie, all right.

"But I just...I just had to say it!" Mondo finally stood up straight, his eyes closed tightly, the complete opposite of James'. Mondo opened one eye, waiting for Jessie's reaction.

Jessie started walking towards Mondo. When she got close enough, James finally realized how much Mondo had grown since they'd first met. James met Mondo when the boy was only 15, Jessie met him when he was 16, and now he was already at least 18. He had gotten one large growth spurt within that time. Jessie was a very tall woman, standing at at least 5'7". But Mondo's head was above hers, at a definite almost 6'.

James watched Jessie closely, hoping she wouldn't break the boy's heart with her reply. Unfortunately, it wasn't Mondo's heart James needed to worry about. When she leaned forward and pressed her lips against Mondo's, James felt his legs move him with a mind of their own. They sped him out of that area and towards the nearest lake, where he could splash some water in his face and remind himself that he didn't care. If Jessie was happy, with Mondo, then James would be happy for both of them. He wasn't her father, or brother, or boyfriend, it wasn't his decision.

Mondo quickly pushed Jessie off of him, a look of disgust on his face. "Geez, Ditto, I told you not to take it that far! It feels weird to kiss a pokemon..." The ditto, currently shaped like Jessie of Team Rocket, started to sniffle. "Aw, look, I'm sorry. I'm just really nervous...I don't know if I can do this...not tonight, not...ever..."

Mondo's ditto hugged the boy tightly, and transformed back to its' proper shape. Mondo looked at his pokemon sadly, returning it to its' pokeball. "Ditto does everything it can to help me...and I haven't done anything for it..." A lightbulb turned on in Mondo's mind, and he quickly took off his Team Rocket jacket, laying it carefully in his bag. "I know! I'll go buy it something special!"

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James walked slowly back to camp (after taking a few detours, the normally fifteen-minute walk became an hour), prepared to see Jessie and Mondo holding hands or cuddling or something cutesy like that. Alright, he felt a little bitter at the thought. Not that he was jealous, of course, but he didn't want to feel left out is all.

He arrived to a surprising scene: Jessie was by herself at the camp, staring into the sky. She didn't look like she had any troubles in her life at all, as if everything was calm and peaceful. James blushed when he realized he'd been staring at her; it seemed like what Mondo said had really gotten to him. But of course, if she loved him, then she wouldn't have kissed Mondo, right? So there was no need to worry about it. The brunette was delusional, obviously.

She jumped when the blue-haired man stepped on a twig and loudly snapped it in half. "Augh! Don't do that, James!"

He rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Jess."

He sat down a few feet away from her, not too close though, and there was a long, awkward silence. Jessie was glaring at James suspiciously, wondering why he came back there if he was just going to sit and say absolutely nothing. James refused to look Jessie in the eyes, but after at least ten minutes, he cleared his throat.

"So, um, Jessie..." he started.

Jessie kept her frown from before and turned towards her partner. "Hmm?"

"So how're things with Mondo?" He knew the two had only had their first kiss a little over an hour beforehand, but he was obscenely curious.

Jessie cocked an eyebrow. "Um...what? Mondo?"

James still didn't look at her. "What, she thinks she can play innocent like I don't know?" "Yeah..."

"Well, uh, I guess they're fine?" She stared at him skeptically. "Wait - what kind of question was that? You just sit here for ten minutes and that's all you have to say?" She glared at him, her anger becoming more evident. She was definitely not a patient woman, and James was just wasting her time with stupid questions! She chose to ignore his distraught expression.

"You don't have to act like I don't already know about it, Jessie, so I was just...just curious!" he snarfed at her. He didn't really have the heart to say exactly what he was talking about, but she would obviously know about it anyways.

Now Jessie wasn't angry, she was just confused. "...James, what in the hell are you talking about?"

James scoffed. "I know that you and Mondo are...dating...or whatever."

Jessie's eyes widened. "He knew what?" "James...wha? Who told you that?"

James rolled his eyes sarcastically. "I wasn't told, I saw it, so you can stop acting stupid."

Jessie blinked a couple times. Where was Meowth to break this awkwardness with a comment like, "That's not an act, Jimmy,"? No, Meowth was sleeping in the balloon's basket, one of his usual catnaps. And James was just acting absolutely weird. Not only did he accuse Jessie of something she had never even considered, but he was acting surprisingly jealous.

"James, you're an idiot. I'm not, er, dating Mondo. I mean, c'mon, he's, like, half my age!" she tried not to sound like she was enjoying his obvious jealousy. "And I doubt he's even interested...unlike someone I know..." She smirked devilishly at James' reaction. At first he looked positively annoyed, then a little happy, and suddenly red with embarrassment. Jessie stifled a laugh at how absolutely adorable he was acting!

James regained his composure and cleared his throat. "Jessie, I saw you. I'm not mad or...jealous, or anything," He made sure to put extra emphasis on jealous, and felt triumphant when Jessie flinched slightly. "So why do you insist on lying?"

Jessie scoffed. "James, I don't care if your delusional little self saw me, I think I know who I've been with more than you do." She was started to get annoyed with his attitude. For once he's acting like he actually knows something and he's just pulling gossip out of his butt. This wasn't like him.

James didn't reply, and Jessie steamed.

"Alright, Mr. Know-It-All, maybe my memory is just shot," she was obviously right, but felt like leading him on anyway. "Why don't you tell me exactly what you saw then, hmm?"

James glared at her. "Ugh! Jessie, you're being impossible!" He could tell she wasn't going to admit to it, so he sighed heavily. "Fine, I'll play along. This is stupid, though." He felt more frustrated than usual. Jessie was being ridiculous! Couldn't she just save him the awkwardness of having to live through the whole situation again? "I was walking along and who do I see but you and Mondo! And Mondo quickly confessed his love for you and then you...kissed him right on the lips and lived happily ever after."

He spoke almost too fast for Jessie to catch everything, but she still laughed when he finished. "James, you're insane! That never happened!"

He let out an exasperated sigh. "Alright, Jessie, then what did I see?"

She winked at him. "Maybe you were just having a nightmare," she replied slyly. She was trying to embarrass him by flirting and teasing about his obvious jealousy, but didn't realize that she was blushing, too.

James blushed not at what she said, but the fact that she was blushing while saying it. Did she want him to say yes to that? Did she want him to just lean over and...

He kissed her. It started as just a peck, but the shocked look on Jessie's face sent a shiver down his spine and James quickly crushed her lips with his. She still wasn't reacting much, but James brought one hand to the back of her neck to keep her in place, and the other hand rested against the side of her face. He smirked when Jessie started to kiss back; her fingers swam through his hair excitedly.

At about the same time, Mondo, who would soon refer to himself as "The Master of Bad Timing", was walking back to camp with a bag of expensive Pokechow for his ditto. He was happily humming along, excited to see the look on Ditto's face when the creature saw the (supposedly) delicious food. Mondo made a mental note to ask Meowth if it was really as good as they said it was.

Unfortunately, as he neared their main campsite, he heard a small squeak and soon after multiple moans and groans. Mondo looked at the clearing skeptically to see James and Jessie in a tight liplock, unable to escape the other's grasp on their head. Mondo blushed fiercely, and looked away suddenly. Of course, someday they would have to have noticed their feelings for one another...but he couldn't help but wish it was his name that Jessie was whispering.

He skipped waking up Meowth and walked over to the river James had been calming himself down at previously. He sighed and let a few tears drip from his eyes before rubbing them off and getting up. He was a man now, not a little boy like so long ago. Mondo the Man needed to be strong, no matter what.

He smirked at his own enthusiasm. Suddenly he thought about Jessie and James again, and instead of feeling sad, he chuckled.

"They are kind of made for each other, huh?" He sighed heavily. He recalled a time in the past when Meowth, who knew of his feelings for Jessie, gave him some interesting advice:

"Mondo, there are a lot of water pokemon in the sea," Meowth had said confidently. "Jessie's one tough gyrados, and you're just not much of a fisherman, ya dig?" At the time, Mondo had barely understood and was slightly offended from what he got out of it. However, he now understood. You don't tangle with a gyrados unless you knew how to handle them.

And James knew.

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I'll write an actual Mondo/Jessie [Crushshipping? thats the name for a bunch of different stuff haha] fic eventually. Eventually.