AN: Rated K+ or T, depending on your style. Takes place right before chapter 1 of Stand by You. No spoilers
Characters: Jessie, James, and Meowth
British-style quotations
Grammar/Spelling updated on December 31, 2016
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She froze in disbelief in front of the cheering crowd. Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people were staring at her. Not at the stage, or her Pokémon, or the bright lights and attractions, but at her. Because she did it.
"Congratulations, Miss Jessilee. You are the now the official Kalos Queen", said Aria as she handed her tiara over to Jessie. "You beat me. You earned it".
Jessie silently gasped. It was strange, she could not recall the last time someone told her that she 'earned it'.
"Wobbbbbba Wobbufet!" Wobbufet wobbed happily as he received his own tiara.
"Hahahaha yes!" She cheered, the realness of the situation finally catching up with her. "I am Jessilee! Your Kalos Queen!"
"I can't believe she actually did it", said Meowth, who was making his way through the audience on James' shoulders. "Without any cheatin' or nothin'. It just ain't de Jessie way".
"Meowth! You can't say that to her! Remember, we knew all along she would make it", James replied, giving the Pokémon a wink.
"Ink, Inkay!" Inkay responded with a nod.
"Wobbufet!"
"K. I am just hopin' dis Kalos Queen business don't go to her head", Meowth muttered.
Meowth was happy for her, of course. Besides, it was good for him too. Though there wasn't a big cash prize for the Kalos Queen, Jessie could expect to receive a lot of respect. The people of Kalos were bound to shower her and her cohorts with free food, free rent, and maybe even some presents that they could bring back to the boss. Plus, she would be in a better mood, which was always a good thing for the male members of their group.
"Jessilee!" James called brightly when he saw Jessie's face.
"James! Meowth!" she answered back, leaving the stage to run towards them.
Meowth clung to James' hair as he ran up to Jessie and all six members of their team embraced. James finally let go of Jessie after a few minutes, and Pokémon followed his lead. Jessie held both of his hands in hers. They looked each other in the eyes and then leaned their foreheads together.
"Um...just remindin' yous dat I'm still here" Meowth informed them. He was still clinging to James, though he had toppled off of his shoulders and was now holding onto his back.
"Wobba wob!" added Wobbufet.
James and Jessie snapped out of their daze and brought their attention back to their environment.
"I knew you would do it all along, Jessie-sama", said James. "Or Queen Jess, if you prefer".
"Queen Jess is fine", she replied.
Unbeknownst to the trio and their Pokémon, a wealthy restaurant and hotel owner was observing their exchange. He looked to be about the same age as James' parents. He came up to the pair before they could walk away.
"My name is Armaldo Hemingway", the man said. "And this is my Mawhile, Brennen. It is an honor to get to see you, my lady".
The man bowed before her, then to James, then to each of their Pokémon.
"Can we help you?" James asked.
"Actually, I came to help you", he responded. "It would be an honor if you joined me for a free dinner and night in my hotel."
"Dat will be awesome!" Meowth piped up.
"A talking Meowth! What a treasure!" He exclaimed.
James reach down and covered Meowth's mouth. "Shh, we are trying to lay low, remember?" he reminded his partner.
"Well it's too late now", Meowth remarked.
"That is very kind of you sir. As your Queen, I expect only the best. I assume your hotel is a fine one?" Jessie inquired. "Because I do not want to settle for anything less".
"Yes ma'am. Five-star rating. The finest in Kalos, Le Hotel de Luxe." Armaldo explained.
"Le Hotel de Luxe? That is one of the expensive hotels in the world!" James exclaimed. "You are going to let us stay there for one night!? And eat a meal there too?"
"Well, since you are not locals, I imagine you will need a place to stay and food to eat. I can make it a week if you want, then I have to charge", the man replied. "I would let you stay longer, but soon it will be tourist season…"
Jessie, James, and Meowth dropped to the floor, causing the man to stop midsentence. Armaldo sweat-dropped, having no idea what their reactions meant. Jessie stood up first.
"I'd love to stay. You aren't just using me to get publicity for your hotel though are you?" she asked.
"Who cares! So long as we gets free stuff…." Meowth started. He was silenced by James, who glared at him to stop talking.
"I can make sure that no one knows that you are there. We can have a chauffeur drive you in one of our limousines with the shaded windows, and we can buy you all new clothes, makeup, and accessories so that no one would recognize you", Armaldo suggested. "This way you and your husband do not have to worry about all the fans bothering you when you want to relax and have your privacy at the end of a long day".
"James is not…whatever", Jessie responded. "We are taking you up on your offer".
"Splendid Madame", he replied. "I know you have the press conference to go to. I will pick you, your husband, and your Pokémon up in the back at six. Then we can escort you to the hotel, and you can relax and we can bring you a five-star meal in the room or you and your family can come down to the restaurant. Does that sound appealing?"
"Yes. Very appealing", Jessie responded as the man kissed the top of her hand. "Your Queen thanks you".
"Oh brotha", Meowth sighed as Armaldo disappeared. "Dis Queen stuff is gonna make her head even bigger den it already is".
"Um, Jess?" James started. He was curious to know why Jessie didn't deny that they were married, because they certainly weren't.
She either didn't hear him or ignored him as a swarm of fans came up to her, begging for her autograph. She smiled, whipped out a pen, and got to work.
"Well, people assume we are married all the time, and she never denied it before", he thought to himself. "So... why am I thinking about it more than usual?"
James, Meowth, and Inkay started to walked away.
"Don't go too far, you guys", Jessie called to them. "Don't forget James, we're a team".
James smiled. "I know", he answered back, raising his voice so that he could be heard over the dozens of young girls and men who wanted to see the new Kalos Queen.
"Weeze gonna go get some fresh air!" Meowth yelled.
"Ok, Like I said, don't go far!" She called back.
Once they got outside, Meowth decided to take a catnap on the grass while James sat by a stream and looked at the wild fish and Pokémon swim by. He was soon consumed by his own thoughts.
"It was just something about the way Armaldo had put it", he thought. "Dinner for two, a hotel room, privacy, it all had implications. Neither of us make assumptions about our relationship, we just do what we do. Me and Jessie share a bed, share meals, bathe together, provide each other with moral support and comfort on an almost regular basis…but we do that because it just always felt so natural. No one was judging us, except maybe Meowth, and it is not like we were public figures. But now…soon everyone in Kalos will know our faces, if they don't already".
James stopped for a moment and stood up. He decided to take a walk and do some stretching while he had the chance, hoping that the light exercise will distract him from his own thoughts. It didn't work.
"Jessie can use this to her advantage", James told himself. "She always had those fantasies...all those men serving her, having a fairy tale wedding with the perfect groom...but lately she has defended our partnership and denied that she was single. Maybe because of what happened with Dr. White...Ah! Why do relationships have to get more and more complicated the older you get?"
An hour later it was time for the press conference. James and Meowth sat in the back while random people with cameras and microphones asked her questions about her training methods, beauty techniques, baking, and Pokémon care. As expected, she made the vast majority of the answers up, without putting much thought into them.
"How old are you Miss Queen Jessilee?" one of the little girls in the front asked.
She looked to be about six or seven herself. The child had magenta hair, much like her own, and was carrying a baby Swablu. Normally Jessie would be offended by such question, but seeing how this girl looked up to her, quite literally, she decided to answer it whole heartedly.
"Twenty-four", she replied. "A young twenty-four".
"Are you married?" a young man asked. He looked to be about the same age as her and James.
James, who was about to nod off like his Pokémon pal beside him, perked up instead.
Jessie hesitated. "I'm involved", she answered vaguely.
James' eyes widened, then and Jessie made brief eye contact. Then she looked away and the questions and answers resumed. Her answer made him feel happy for some reason, but also made him frustrated. He returned to the same train of thought he was riding earlier that day.
"There she goes again…but maybe this is because she is afraid Armaldo is watching. If he finds out that we are not married, he might not give us the accommodations he offered before", James rationalized. "But that guy was just her type. She never turned down men who were her type..."
Later they were sitting in the limo with Armaldo and his Mawhile. Brennen and Meowth were having a conversation, which the rest of the party could only understand half of, while their host talked to them about their staying in Kalos.
"I know you have been here a while now, but there is never a dull moment in this wonderful land", Armaldo told them. "I have lived here since I was a child, though I did spend six years as a nomad. I went through Unova, Sinnoh, Kanto, Toka, and when I retire I plan on exploring the rest of the world. Where are you from originally? I can tell by your accents that it must by either Kanto, Johto, or somewhere near there".
"Kanto", they replied in unison.
"And what is it you do?" he asked.
"Um...we are…chefs", said James.
Jessie gave him a curious look, since their go-to career was 'fashion design' and not 'culinary art', but James just mouthed 'I don't know why I just said that'.
"That is right", Jessie picked up. " We specialize in…noodles. Perhaps you heard of Jessie and James' Noodle Shop?"
"That was named after you two?" he asked. "I love that place! Two of them opened up in Kalos about two years ago. I have been a big fan ever since I discovered them in Sinnoh about five years ago".
"Yes. Sometimes people call me 'Jessie' instead of 'Jessilee'. Jameson goes by James too", she explained.
"Your work inspired me to do a noodle section on my menu. Wow! I would have never guessed that the Kalos Queen and her mate were the proprietors of one of my favorite eateries. This is such a treat", he told them.
"Um…we are glad you think that", James stuttered nervously.
"Yes, well Kalos is a magical place", Armaldo mused. "I have met so many amazing people here. Including my wife. They do not call it the land of love for nothing. We say that if you come looking for the love of your life here, then you are sure to find the perfect partner. I never heard of anyone ever saying anything otherwise".
"That's…interesting", James mused, looking at the window to avoid Jessie's prying stare.
A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant, which was connected the hotel. Armaldo and the others stepped out of the limousine and a bellhop came up to take their bags.
"You must have more than just these two bags", Armaldo commented. "Where were you staying before this?"
Most of Jessie and James' things were in the Meowth balloon, which they ditched in the forest about two miles north of where the press conference was held. Admitting that the rest of their personal items were out there would sound suspicious.
"I can have some of my employees pick your things up from the last hotel you stayed at", Armaldo suggested. "It would be no trouble at all".
"Don't be ridiculous! The truth is, these are all of our things", Jessie told him. "We are very light travelers. Nomads. We only carry what we need. Before here we were just staying in this little inn. We left nothing behind".
"Huh. You sure are an interesting pair. My bellhop Xavier will escort you to your room", he replied.
Jessie, James, and Meowth followed Xavier to their room. They marveled at the enormous hotel. There were twenty floors, all sparkling clean, and the walls were covered with expensive artwork. The carpet was so soft, they felt like they were walking on Mareep wool.
"My family used to stay here when they visited the Kalos region", James whispered to his two companions. "Every floor has its own swimming pool/spa, and every meal here is all-you-can eat. There is a seafood buffet too. The biggest in the world".
Tears of joy streamed down Meowth's face as he embraced Jessie.
"Dank yous so much Jess! Danks to yous we are finally livin' de good life!" Meowth exclaimed.
The servant glanced at them quizzically. Jessie gave him a look that said 'back off', and he did not say anything. They rode the elevator up to the top floor. They walked down a hallway until they got to a large door.
"And here you are, the master suite", the bellhop announced as he unlocked the door.
"No way!" the three Rockets exclaimed in unison.
The penthouse was bigger than most homes. There was a full-sized kitchen, fully stocked, a giant flat-screen TV, an enormous leather couch, one huge bedroom, two full bathrooms, and tons of open space. The bellhop put their stuff down and left them alone.
"A bed!" James squealed happily as he dove onto the king-sized mattress. "It's good, my back was starting to hurt from so many nights in the woods".
"Mine too", said Jessie as she jumped in next to him.
"Mine tree", said Meowth as he crawled between the two of them.
"Let's let out our Pokémon", James suggested. "Go Inkay!"
"Kay kay", the tiny floating Pokémon responded as it came into view.
"Gourgeist and Wobbufet too", said Jessie, tossing her two Pokeballs up.
Once everyone was out, they left the bedroom to go explore the rest of the penthouse. Meowth followed them.
"What do you want to do? Stay in or go out?" James asked Jessie, who was lying next to him with her eyes facing the ceiling.
"Out. It is my first night as Kalos Queen. I want to go out and celebrate. I bet I can convince that Armaldo guy to buy us a few drinks", Jessie replied.
"Should I be concerned?" James asked, noting her emphasis on the word 'convince'.
"Ew James", she replied, smacking him with a paper fan. "He's like, twice our age".
"Let's get ready then", James replied.
The two humans showered and pulled on some of their nicer clothes. James helped her with her hair while she put on her makeup. Meowth slowly woke up from his nap and observed them beautifying themselves in the mirror.
"Yous two going out on a date?" he asked, snickering as he jumped off the bed.
"Nope", Jessie answered nonchalantly. "All six of us were invited to dinner. That Armaldo guy asked us while you were talking to that Mawhile".
"Mmmm. Dat sounds good to me", Meowth replied, licking his lips.
"Go bathe or something", said Jessie. "We need to look decent. The Queen and her associates need to look their best".
James tossed Meowth his little hair brush and a bowtie.
"Look sharp", he told his friend.
About two hours later, Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbufet, Gourgeist, and Inkay had finished their meal at the incredibly fancy dining room.
"What do you think? Should we go for dessert and wine?" James asked his friends.
"Duh", Jessie and Meowth replied in unison.
Jessie ordered some wine and chocolate covered strawberries for the table. Meowth and the rest of their Pokémon headed over to the dessert buffet, which was located on the other side of the extravagant restaurant.
"I haven't had food this delicious and expensive since we visited your grandparents", Jessie commented. "According to the menu, we ate about four hundred dollars' worth of food so far".
"I suppose being Queen really does have some perks", James responded.
James reached across the table and touched her hand, which was lying next to her wine glass. Their eyes locked for the second time that day. For the first time in a while it was just the two of them alone. Armaldo had even gotten them a private table, located towards the back of the restaurant and behind a wall where they were hardly visible.
"James…what's the matter?" she asked. Her eyes dulled and there was a shred of concern in her voice. "You look like you are thinking too hard."
"No. I am just really happy for you. It feels really good to win for once, doesn't it?" he asked with a genuine smile on his face.
"What are we going to do after this?" James asked her.
"Well, I would like to take a walk, find a bar, and have a few more drinks before going up to bed", Jessie replied. "Then maybe we can rent a movie or something. I am too excited to go to sleep just yet".
"That sounds nice, but I meant after we get kicked out of this hotel", James responded. "He said he has to charge us after a week, and even if we start working now...there is no way we could afford this place".
Jessie was the undisputed leader of their trio, and although she had been dreaming of becoming Kalos Queen for months, she didn't think of a plan for what to do after she won the title. As usual, she just relied on faith and fate.
"I don't want to leave Kalos", Jessie decided. "After all, this is my kingdom now".
"What about the Boss? We have been here for months. He might want us to return to Kanto or to go somewhere else soon", James replied.
"Don't worry about it", said Jessie. "We can just make up some lie about how we are too involved here to leave just yet".
"Right", James responded. "Like what, exactly?"
"We can make up a report about how we are involved in something important and cannot abort the mission just yet. We can figure the details later", she told him.
"Speaking of being involved….", James started. "Why…?"
"You want to know why I told people at the press conference that I was 'involved' and not 'single'?" she guessed.
"Well yeah", he replied. "You are the Kalos Queen. All day men have been throwing themselves at you. Not just any men, the type of men you like. Smart, rich, cute... all of them practically begging you to take them out on a date, and you are not having any of it".
"I just decided that I am no longer going to be into that sort of thing", Jessie answered. "I am a Queen. None of them are good enough for me anyway"
James sniggered. "I know there is more to it than just that". His face softened when he noticed Jessie's look of defeat. "You can tell me why. We are all alone".
"I know, I know", was her response.
"What? You don't trust me? But I thought I was your husband", he joked.
Jessie did a quick look around, making sure that Meowth and the others weren't on their way back. They weren't. She took a deep breath and then leaned in closer to James. He reciprocated her actions.
"Swear you won't tell anyone, not even Meowth", she demanded.
"I won't", he promised.
"The truth is..." she hesitated, unsure whether or not she was ready to admit this aloud. She didn't even want to admit it to herself. "I just can't deal with that anymore".
"Deal with what exactly?" James asked.
"It always comes down to just me", she said. There was sadness in her voice, but she refused to cry. "I am just not meant for that sort of thing. Settling down, marriage. every guy I have been with, or thought about being with, eventually tossed me aside".
James squeezed her hands. "I never tossed you aside", he whispered.
"You...you don't count", she replied.
"Huh? What do you mean I don't count?" he asked defensively, a bit offended by her response.
"Because you and I are just friends", she answered.
James gave her the puppy dog pout. "Just friends?" he asked.
"Ok, I'll admit that you and I are a bit closer than most friends", she responded with a grin. As far as she knew, most male-female friends weren't joined at the hip 24/7 the way they were. Most 'just' friends did not sleep in the same bed, wash each other's backs, or help each other get dressed and ready every morning like they did.
"But it's not the same as romance or marriage".
"True", he responded. "I don't want to get married, you don't want to get married, and this might be why we get along so well".
"James, I promise I won't leave you again. This Kalos Queen stuff is going to be fun… but I only got here because of our little family", she confessed. "I promise I won't run off the way I almost did in the past. As of right now, I am done with all that romantic crap. Who needs it anyway?"
James was almost going to confess how much he liked the 'romantic crap' to which she was referring, but they were interrupted by the return of the four Pokémon members of their squad.
"Uh oh, looks like we interrupted yere moment. Sorry 'bout dat Jimmy", said Meowth as he noticed how close the two were and how tightly they were holding onto one another's hands.
"Why don't you join us?" asked James as he grabbed Meowth and pulled him and Jessie into a hug.
"Ok, enough", said Jessie as she backed away from them all. "Let's go out".
The six of them walked the streets for the next two hours. Dozens of people, ranging from old women and men to young boys and girls bombarded them the moment they left the confines of the hotel/restaurant property. The crowd took pictures, begged for autographs, and asked a lot of questions. Eventually, they were able to escape by using one of their disguises to sneak passed them and back up to their hotel room. Meowth ran into the bedroom, and gasped when he saw all of the baskets of goods waiting for them.
"There must be over a dozen of dese!" Meowth exclaimed as he looked around the room. Jessie and James entered behind him.
"Oh! Someone must have given these to us as gifts for me achieving the title of Kalos Queen!" Jessie squealed as she picked up a wine, chocolate, and fruit basket.
"Ooooh! This one has a bunch of rare bottle caps on it!" James glowed happily as he showed his friends a basket of French beer.
"And dis got catnip in it!" Meowth exclaimed, picking up a little basket that was decorated with tiny Meowths.
"Wobbbbbaaffffeettttt!" Wobbufet exclaimed as he popped out of his Pokeball. He held up a basket that contained several board games.
After a few more hours of drinking and playing board games, the trio and their Pokémon passed out on the bed. After a very pleasant dream, James woke up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, and was surprised to find Jessie sprawled out on top of him. He slowly removed her and placed her next to a snoring Meowth and Wobbufet. When he got back, Jessie was awake and sitting up on the bed, waiting for him to return.
"I'm sorry! I didn't want to wake you up", he whispered. " I just really needed to pee and you were crushing me".
"I woke up a few seconds before you did. I tried to get up, but I couldn't without waking you. I figured you might be...uncomfortable in some areas if you woke up and found my lying on top of you like that. But...it turned out I was a little too late anyway", she smirked.
It took James a moment to register her comment. When he did, a tint of red appeared on his cheeks.
"It's a natural response. It was not my fault. I was asleep!" he said defensively.
"Don't get so defensive", she said playfully. "I'm just messing with you. It's not like this is the first time this has happened anyway..."
James blush deepened. He put his head down and lay down on his side of the king-sized bed.
The next few months were different for the trio. Instead of stalking Ash and friends, Queen Jess and her family traveled from town to town, receiving free food, board, and gifts everywhere they went. Best of all, Giovanni did not call them back, and was even pleased with them when they started send him Pokémon on a regular basis. Apparently, when Ash was not around, it was much easier to capture Pokémon for the boss. While they knew the power of the Queen would eventually wear off, for now they were all satisfied.
Because Kalos really was the land of love.
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A.N. please read and review if you can, and check out the other stories listed under my profile. They are a continuation of this story. Also, this is posted as Chapter 9 of Cut Scenes and you for reading and I hope you have a wonderful life:)