Hey! It's been a while. I've been stuck in a rut and struggling with some wicked writer's block. A few months ago, I shared an OTP Quote Challenge thing on Tumblr and at this point I doubt anyone remembers, including the people who submitted prompts. Well, here is the 2nd prompt! Finally! The quote is bolded, so you'll know what the prompt was when you get to it. I don't feel great about the quality of this one, but I'm sharing it anyway and I hope someone out there finds enjoyment in it.
Thanks for reading! Please leave a review and let me know what you think.
"Unbelievable!"
A flurry of bared teeth and crimson locks, mangled from another harsh landing, burned a path through the thick of the forest, seemingly unphased by the branches and vines that scraped against patches of exposed skin. Jessie's partners lagged several feet behind, partly out of inability to match her pace and partly out of an unspoken understanding that their teammate literally needed space while she cooled off. As their seemingly aimless journey through thick foliage dragged on, the distance between James and his teammates grew as his breathing become increasingly more labored. Meowth noticed the trend but chose to not make any mention of it aloud.
Without even the vaguest hint of warning, Jessie stopped dead in her tracks, causing Meowth to plow into her back at full force before James joined the group domino effect moments later. The resulting dogpile was far from unusual for trio and ordinarily Jessie would have been able to brush the mishap off with little more than a grumble or two. But in succession with their previous misfortunes of the day, it only served as the proverbial straw that broke the camerupt's back. In a series of yanks and shoves, she roughly untangled her limbs from those of her partners and sprang to her feet so quickly their minds struggled to keep up with her movements. James remained on his back, legs sprawled awkwardly with Meowth face-down against his chest. Both faces snapped upward to find ruby lips pursed into a scowl alongside a pair of rage-darkened eyes.
"That plan was foolproof. FOOLPROOF! And yet you two still managed to find a way to screw it all up."
"Obviously your genius plan wasn't as foolproof as ya t'ink, Jess."
"Excuse me?! My plan wasn't the problem. My incompetent teammates who bungle missions more often than they breathe are the problem."
"Oh dat's rich coming from you."
"And you." As James watched a piercing glare lock onto his face, his already uneasy stomach twisted as he realized his best efforts to quietly avoid this verbal scuffle had ultimately failed.
"I thought you said your ridiculous Robo-Mecha Wobbuffet Mach 2 was totally indestructible!"
Meowth was all too eager to join in the finger pointing. "Yeah! What da hell happened dere, Jim?"
James chin hit his chest as a heavy sigg escaped him. He was well aware that, even on his best days, he was woefully unmatched in any argument against his fiery and quick-witted companions. And on a day like this when he was feeling far less than stellar, he knew there was no sense in even trying.
Unfortunately, his lack of response only served to fuel Jessie's foul mood. "Hello?! Say something, James!"
With a groan, his teeth clenched as he rubbed his temples in a futile attempt to clear his cloudy mind. A dull ache had nagged at his neck and back upon waking that morning, but he quickly wrote it off as nothing more than lingering stiffness from sleeping in an awkward position on the unforgiving forest floor. But now, James felt as though his head was clamped inside a vice which slowly squeezed tighter by the minute. If he could just manage to pull through the day, he was certain a good night's rest would erase all of his pains.
He did his best to reach through the fog and grasp for coherent words. "I know. I screwed it all up. I… I'm sorry."
Beyond the dejectness of his tone, Jessie picked up a hint of something deeper. His normally smooth voice carried a gravely edge that she wasn't accustomed to hearing. As her eyes carefully scanned the details of his face for a sign as to why he sounded so odd, Jessie noticed his face held an unusual pallor. For a fraction of a second, her scowl faded and was replaced by a look of genuine concern.
"You okay? You seem a little off today."
To say the sudden shift in mood surprised James was an understatement. He was quite familiar to his companion's mercurial tendencies, of course, and some part of him found the unpredictability of her behavior strangely addictive. There was a district thrill that came with a partner who always kept you guessing, and this moment had proven to be no exception.
Before James could even begin to form a proper response to her inquiry about his state of wellbeing, Jessie had already moved on and formulated an agenda for the remainder of their day.
"We've wasted enough time. The sun will set any minute, so we need to hurry up find the the balloon so we can set up camp for the night."
With a roll of his eyes, Meowth added, "By 'we', she means you and me, Jimmy."
The snide remark didn't make it to Jessie's ears as she had already returned to her brisk pace, leaving her partners scrambling to their feet and sprinting to catch up.
Typically, blast offs left the group disoriented, all bearings lost along with their material belongings. But for once, they found good fortune on their side as they navigated unfamiliar terrain with relative ease and located their balloon before nightfall could dim their path and make their search exponentially more challenging. As the sun began to slide behind the horizon, leaving a canvas of amber and rose in its wake, the team set up camp in a manner that was reminiscent of an orchestra performing a well-rehearsed sonata. After countless nights in the wilderness together, each teammate knew their respective tasks without a single word or gesture between them and completed them with practiced ease.
Meowth unfurled sleeping bags as gracefully as his small limbs allowed as Jessie retrieved their rucksack from the floor of the balloon basket. Her calloused hand, adorned by chipped remnants of her last proper manicure, plunged into the sack in search of the evening's meager rations. She blindly grasped around varies supplies, her tongue poking through the side of her mouth as she focused her senses on the search for a very specific texture. Her concentration was broken by the sound of James stumbling back into the small cleaning, arms struggling to control a stack of firewood which was effectively blocking his vision. As he dropped the wood near a patch of dirt he had cleared for the campfire, his body clumsily sank to the ground with it, as if the effort of remaining in a standing position was too much for his muscles to bear any longer. In his best effort to play his blunder off as intentional, he immediately set to arranging the wood until he aligned each one just right. As he retrieved their dwindling set of matches, he found the task of kindling flames more difficult than usual as a thin layer of sweat clung to his palms and caused his fingers to slip. After a few mumbled curses, his fumbling fingers finally found success with the embers of a new fire.
Jessie shook her head lightly as she fought the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. Her partner's awkward blunders hadn't gone unnoticed, and she couldn't help but find his feeble efforts to maintain a suave facade painfully endearing. With another twist of her hand, she finally located the item in question: the last remaining can of food. As it emerged from the depths of the bag, she was greeted by a label which revealed their dinner menu: sliced pineapple.
She shrugged casually, mentally noting that, while a few bites of fruit wouldn't be the most satisfying dinner she had ever experienced, it was also far from the worst. "Looks like it's just a can of pineapple slices tonight, team."
James had remained hunched over the growing flames as the residual heat caressed his face. He leaned in closer, savoring a moment of relief from the chill that had been settling deep within his bones for the better part of the day.
Through the heavy fog of fatigue, he managed to grasp just enough energy to turn his head in his partners' direction. "You two split it. I'm not terribly hungry right now."
With a 'pop' of the can's lid, Jessie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Don't be such a martyr, James. The three of us are certainly accustomed to splitting rations." Though her tone was flat, her partner detected a hint of irritation somewhere within it.
"I mean it! I'm still full from breakfast. An early bedtime is the only thing my body is starving for at the moment. I'm exhausted."
Jessie's brow quirked and she regarded him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye. She had only known him to decline food, particularly his favorite fruit, when he was deeply depressed. Not to mention the team hadn't had much of a breakfast to speak of, making his claim of being "full" in any form or fashion almost laughable.
Though James didn't have a clear view of her face, he knew from years of experience that the expression she wore was one of skepticism. In a last-ditch effort to deflect attention from his malaise that seemed to only increase by the minute, he forced the best from he could muster along with a jovial tone in his hoarse voice.
"Please! I insist. You two enjoy it!"
Before Jessie could begin for formulate a proper response to her partner's paper thin charade, Meowth was at her side, greedily rubbing his paws together as he eyed the contents of the can. "Ya don't gotta me me twice!"
Before Jessie could so much as blink, half of the contents had vanished inside her feline companion's eager mouth. Her lip curled in disgust as he noisily slurped the pineapple slices and whipped his mouth with a satisfied smack.
"Meowth, your table manners are atrocious."
He threw his head back with a cackle. "Sure, Jess. Don't forget I seen ya slurpin' down mouthfuls of noodles just a couple days ago. Besides, I can't help dat I was raised by pokemon. I didn't get all dem etiquette lessons humans do. So what's your excuse?"
Rage began to simmer in her veins as her jaw and fists clenched simultaneously. She was milliseconds from boiling over when an abrupt sound drew the increasingly heated banter to a halt.
That sound was an undignified sneeze from the third member of their team, who had curled himself into the fetal position inside his sleeping bag. Though his teammates were accustomed to his fits of allergies, which had become a routine part of traveling with a man who favored grass-types despite his reaction to pollen, this sneeze held a distinctly different quality that neither could quite put their finger on.
The abrupt silence of his companions jarred James as much as his unrestrained sneeze did them. Rolling over to face them, James caught sight of two mystified faces staring back at him.
"I'm sorry! Bless you! Er, I mean... excuse me!" He smiled sheepishly as he pulled his sleeve over his hand and swiped it across his face. His weak smile remained as he rolled back into his previous position and called out to them sweetly over his shoulder. "Goodnight, Jess! Goodnight, Meowth!"
"Goodnight, James." they replied in unison, both still struggling to process their teammate's behavior. Their eyes locked with a shared look of and concern. Something was wrong with him, and he was clearly trying (and failing) to hide it. Why wasn't he being open and honest with his closest friends? Jessie and Meowth both began to wonder if the other was privy to something they weren't- an equally unsettling feeling on both ends.
When it became clear that neither one of then held any secret insight, Jessie was the first to avert her gaze with an exasperated sigh.
"James has the right idea. An early bedtime will do all of us good. We put ourselves way behind schedule today and have no choice but to work twice as hard tomorrow to make up for it."
"Right." Meowth punctuated his reply with an obliging nod.
Without another word, Jessie and Meowth tucked themselves into their respective sleeping bags, which had already been positioned in their typical sleeping arrangement. Jessie's was directly next to James' and Meowth's was several feet away from both humans as he despised their inevitable snoring.
Jessie quickly settled into a comfortable position, savoring the soothing scent remaining from the morning's rain as nincada softly hummed a lullaby. The earth was cool beneath her, a sensation she had always been strangely fond of. Just as she felt herself drifting far away from the waking world, a rustling sound nearby yanked her back to consciousness. As her eyes flew open, she made out the faint outline of James thrashing around around his sleeping bag mere inches from her face. He had somehow managed to close the already scant distance between their bodies.
His restlessness piqued Jessie's attention, as years of sharing close quarters had taught her he was a delightfully quiet and sound sleeper. All of this movement was quite unlike him. Their proximity also allowed Jessie to clearly hear his breathing, which was labored and congested.
That was the last bit of confirmation she needed. The odd behavior. Cloudy eyes. Lack of appetite. Labored breathing. There was no doubt. James was sick.
Without a word, Jessie pulled an arm from the cozy confines of her sleeping bag to press the back of her hand against his forehead.
James' eyes flew open, startled by the unexpected physical contact and even more so the unexpected sight of his companions face mere inches from his own, studying him intently. The intensity of her gaze made him feel as though he was a microbe under a slide.
"Just as I suspected. You're burning up with fever. Why on earth didn't you say something?"
The realization that his charade was up, coupled with the chills and aches that were ravaging his entire body, caused James' lip to quiver and his eyes to fill with tears.
Jessie caught sight of this for only a moment before he buried his face in his palms in a feeble attempt to muffle his sobs.
In between cries, he managed to choke out a few intelligible words. "I… didn't… want to be… a burden."
From the darkness behind his palms, he felt a pair of arms wind around him as Jessie pulled him closer and pressed his face into her neck. The sensation of her chin firmly pressing against the top of his head while her warmth enveloped him was soothing in a way he had never experienced and he found himself struggling to find a frame of reference for the butterfree bustling in his stomach. All his life, things like tenderness and physical affection had been entirely foreign to him. Concepts that he read about in novels but had never experienced in the flesh. That was, until he met her.
His sobs subsided and he melted into her embrace. Jessie shuddered slightly at the sensation of his breath against her neck, a heat building within her that couldn't be explained by James' fever alone. She was struck with an impulse so strong it jolted her, her muscles tensing as she fought it.
James tilted his head slightly in attempt to meet her gaze. "Jess? You ok?"
She silently thanked the pokemon gods for the fact that her brain was able to grasp onto a solid excuse for her behavior without more than a moment's hesitation.
"Yes, of course! I just remembered something. Be right back!"
Jessie swiftly wiggled from her sleeping bag and sprang to her feet before making beeline for the balloon, grateful for a moment to regain composure away from her partner's watchful eyes. Upon reaching the basket, she gripped the edge of it firmly with one hand Alan's pressed pressed the other against her forehead, praying she would discover that she too was delirious with fever.
That must be it. We caught the same thing at the same time. Totally makes sense. I'm just sick, that's all. Nothing weird going on between us!
With a satisfied nod, she leaned over the edge of the basket and located the first aid kit. Unbeknownst to her teammates, she kept a hidden treasure inside. Once the story of her prior medical training had been shared, both of her companions relied on her to bandage them up after blast-offs and other mishaps. While this often created more work for her, it also meant they stayed out of the first aid kit, making it easy for her to stash a secret medicine bottle that had proven to be her saving grace again and again. Inside the bottle was a special formulation of berry juice that worked quite well against human colds and flu. Though she would never readily admit it, Jessie fell victim to viruses often. She was widely known for being strong and indestructible as steel and loathed any situation that tried to prove otherwise. Thankfully, sneaking swigs of her secret elixir found her bouncing back relatively quickly and she felt stronger than ever each time. Common human illnesses were no match for the force of nature that was Jessie.
And here she was, about to give a dose of her priceless lifeline to James. I must really love this guy, she mused and quickly shook the thought from her mind, a look of horror crossing her face as she once again prayed she was sick and definitely definitely not in love with her best friend and coworker.
James stated into the darkness behind the dying campfire, eagerly awaiting Jessie's return. He mind had just began to descend into worry when she strode purposefully back into view, fetching the canteen and a mug as she settled onto a rock near the fire. James found himself mesmerized by her every movement as she carefully warmed the mug of water over the fire and poured a very precise amount of liquid from a small medicine bottle into it. As she stirred the concoction and studied it carefully, James couldn't help but feel as though he was watching an artist engaged in her craft. Her movements were graceful and measured and practiced. Her eyes were focused and determined. She was in her element and he couldn't get enough of her. A feeling of warmth welled up in his chest, both exhilarating and suffocating in its intensity, and he found himself all the more restless as struggled to contain it. He wanted nothing more than to rush to her side and grab her face and...
His train of thought was broken when the source of his confusing feelings plopped down next to him and stuck the warm mug in his face.
"Drink This. It'll make you feel better."
James pushed himself into a sitting position and grasped the mug with shaky hands. He crinkled his nose at the scent, an unusual mixture of sour and bitter which was a far cry from the sweetness his palate usually craved.
"I know the taste isn't the best, but just trust me."
His trust in her knew no bounds. Without another moment's hesitation, he went all in with the largest gulp he could muster. After adjusting to the flavor, he was pleased to find the warmth of the liquid and the ingredients therein quickly soothed his throat and lifted a bit of the fog from his mind.
As James finished the contents of the mug, Jessie pressed a cool, wet cloth to his forehead and caressed his cheek as she held his gaze and smiled. For a moment he thought he detected a hint of longing in her eyes, but was certain he had just imagined it in his feverish state.
"Better?" Her voice was like a song, soft and sweet.
The way the moonlight sparkled in her eyes and shone against her hair like a crimson halo left him speechless, unable to do anything more than nod in reply. He grasped her hands firmly, hoping to find a gesture that adequately expressed his gratitude.
Jessie mirrored his grip on her hands, watching his face expectantly and finding herself hopelessly lost in emerald orbs and flushed cheeks cheeks and the smooth lips…
Some magnetic force had slowly pulled her face toward his, and she didn't realize it until she was close enough to feel his breath against her skin. Their lips brushed for a fraction of a second before James snapped out of the trance with a jolt.
"J-Jessie! We can't do this! I… I'll get you sick!"
"Oh, to hell with that." With her heart pounding in her ears, she relented to impulses she had fought for so long. After years of longing gazes and near misses that were always left unacknowledged between them, she was more than ready to finally give in to the tension and see where a moment of recklessness might lead them.
Gripping James' shoulders roughly, she pressed her lips against his and slid her hands up to tangle in his mussed hair. She felt him gasp against her lips at the abruptness of her advances and relished in the fact that, even in a moment like this, she could still manage to stay one step ahead of her partner and keep him on his toes. Her satisfaction only grew further as she felt him relax into her kisses and sensed that he was doing his best to match her level of passion.
Both partners lost all awareness of time and surroundings as their senses became engrossed by the feel of the other's skin and taste of the other's mouth. Though they had wandered into uncharted territory, something about this shift in their relationship felt incredibly familiar, as if they had been there all along without realizing it. There was a shared sense of belonging, and Both wondered why they had avoided this for so long.
James was the first to break away, albeit reluctantly, gasping for air through lungs that were still clouded by congestion. He stared into Jessie's eyes and she peered intently back into his, both trying to read the other's mind and ensure they were sharing the same thoughts and feelings about what had just transpired.
With a soft smile, Jessie gently brushed a few strands of hair from James face. "Time for bed. We can't afford to waste any more time, so I need both of us in tip-top shape tomorrow!"
James mirrored her smile and felt a sense of quiet relief wash over him at the realization that, even after such an unexpected moment of passion, their their dynamic remained unchanged at its core. As he settled back into his sleeping bag, he felt the warmth of another body slide in behind him and a pair of arms wrap around his waist. His aches and chills were long forgotten when he was wrapped in the warm security of her embrace.
"Jessie?"
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. For taking care of me. For… for everything."
He felt her breath tickle the back of his neck and she chuckled softly. "I just didn't want you slowing us down again tomorrow. Don't get it twisted."
Words spilled out before he could fully consider their weight. "I love you, Jess." His eyes widened the moment the last syllable left his mouth, and he held his breath in panic as every possible outcome of his blunder flashed across his mind.
Jessie tensed for a moment, thrown by the strange sensation that, for once, the tables had turned and it was James keeping her on her toes.
Oh, to hell with it.
"I love you, too." Her whisper was so soft, she wasn't certain anyone outside her own head could detect the words. But when a relieved exhale rushed from James' mouth and his hands shifted to squeeze hers, she was certain he had.