The True Test of Love II: The Twerpy Menace
L.R.T.
"Ha! Take that, bitch!"
"Josephine!" Jessie cried, "what did I say about swearing?"
"But mom, the Ketchum kid is battling Lorelei and he just kicked some major as -"
"Joey..."
"Butt! I was gonna say butt!" Joey pouted.
Josephine "Joey" was the tomboy of the triplets and the oldest by four minutes. She swore and spit and didn't take crap from anybody. James always said, "My god, she's like a mini-Jessie!" which wasn't exactly a far off statement on James's part. She even had an unlimited supply of pans, fans, mallets...stashed under her bed to beat up on her sisters with. She had purple hair that was as long as Jessie's though no one ever saw this because she always had it back in a ponytail. Joey had emerald eyes like James and all the girls had the wisp of hair in their face, just like James. No one knew exactly how you could inherit hair but no one really seemed to care, either.
"I don't know why yous twos let dem watch dat kid battle," Meowth said disapprovingly.
"Meowth, they're ten years old. Ash is twenty now. I think we can forgive and forget, don't you?" Jessie said, flipping through a magazine.
"Mom! Why did I have to get dad's hair? I hate this strand! It's like, always in my face!" Jennie whined from the bathroom.
She was the valleygirl of the group and the second born after Joey by two minutes. She had purple hair as well that was shoulder-length just like James'. She had Jessie's blue eyes and definitely her mother's fashion flair. They'd look over fashion magazines for hours.
"I don't know, Jennie, just deal with it!" Jessie called.
"Uh, could you please keep it down? I'm trying to read," Jeanette, the youngest by four minutes, said quietly. She was the shy one. She reminded Jessie of a young James. She figured that's where Jeanette got it from. God knows Jessie was anything but shy. Jeanette's time was spent reading, writing and painting. She was a very talented young woman though people rarely saw her work. The only person who ever saw her drawings was James and the only Pokemon was Arbok. Jeanette loved Arbok like her own. She'd tell it everything. Her hair was also purple and naturally styled like Jessie's. No hair spray, moose, gel, nothing was ever put on her head. Jessie was a little jealous.
"Ash, you moron! Don't be using Wartortle! God, you are so dense! Everyone knows Pokemon are weak against their own kind! Use the damn Raichu, Einstein! Electric types are good against water! Jeez, Mom, did he ever go to Pokemon Tech?" Joey said.
"I don't think so, Joe."
"That explains a lot." Joey paused. "Hey, didn't you and pop go there?"
"Yeah, we did."
"So why aren't you Pokemon Masters?"
"We flunked out."
Joey burst out laughing. "That's hilarious! What'd you get?"
"-10..."
"Negative? That's a riot! Man, mom, you and dad must've been seriously stupid!"
"Well, what kind of question is how many hairs does a Psyduck have on its head?" Jessie said angrily.
"Three," Joey, Jeanette, and Jennie replied.
"Hey, don't mouth off to me, kiddies! Or Dawson won't be going up his creek for a week, got it?"
They all shut up and went back to what they were doing.
"Mom! Is dad back with my cucumber facial cream?" Jennie called.
"No!"
"Ugh, parents."
"So, Jessie, your anniversary's comin' up, ya know." Meowth smirked.
"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot!"
"Forgot? Dat's da guy's job, Jess! Remember? Da girls were born in May and yous twos got hitched in July."
"Hey bub, try raising three pre-teen girls and then see if you remember stuff!" Jessie retorted.
"Heh, heh, so got any plans?"
"Meowth, you have such a dirty mind."
"Aw...come on! Uncle Meowth wants some more nieces...a nephew or two wouldn't hurt either, ya know."
"No way! I love the girls more than anything but James and I decided that three were enough for us."
"Aw...why?"
"You try shoving three kids out of your vag -"
"Meowth! Stop!" Meowth yelled, covering his ears.
Jessie smirked. "Thought so."
"Yes! He did it, mom! Ash won!" Joey yelled.
"Ash Ketchum?" Jennie asked peeking through the bathroom door. "Oh my god, he is so fine. I'd kill to meet him!"
"Hey, let's go see him in Pallet!" Joey suggested.
"I'll have to ask your father," Jessie said.
"Mom, it's 2010. Women are independent souls. We don't need a man telling us what we can and can't do," Jennie said.
"I guess I'm just old-fashioned then, Jennie."
"Whatever." She went back in the bathroom.
"I think it's romantic, mom," Jeanette said.
"Thank you, dear," Jessie smiled.
Meowth thought about the last ten years. Jessie and James had grown up so much. He hadn't seen them wear their Team Rocket uniforms since their honeymoon night. He shuddered at the thought. That was going to stick with him for a while. He wished that they hadn't have brought the girls and him along. Then again, Jessie didn't want to leave them, which he could understand. Jessie and James now barely had a moment to themselves. Sure, once or twice, by accident, maybe he walked in on a romantic moment between the two and totally wrecked it but it never bugged him...until now. Their anniversary had to be special and most important of all - they had to be alone. But how could he pull it off?
Giovanni was livid once he found out Jessie and James were quitting to take care of their family and now they were in the witness protection program and living in seclusion. Jessie and James were scared of Giovanni and most of all, they were scared of what he might try to do to the girls. Jessie, James and Meowth rarely spoke of their past, especially Team Rocket. Jennie, Joey and Jeanette wanted to know but knew better than to pry. How could Jessie and James have a romantic anniversary when everywhere they went, a squad of Jennys followed? Meowth got out of his daze when Joey smacked him upside the head with a fan.
"Yo, Uncle Meowth! Wanna play Pokemon?"
"Yeah! You're goin' down, sister!"
"Don't beat your catnip, furface!"
James walked in with a bag from the local drug store. Jennie ran in, grabbed the bag, kissed her dad and ran into the bathroom again. James shrugged and went over by Jessie and kissed her passionately on the lips.
"Ew, get a room," Joey said, not even bothering to look up from her game.
Jeanette sighed. "How romantic!"
"Ettey, they're like, thirty years old. That's not right."
"They're twenty-seven and I think it's romantic," she said quietly.
"You're hopeless, sis!"
James went over by Jeanette. "So, got any new drawings?"
"Yeah! Wanna see?"
"You bet."
Jeanette led her dad into her room. Jessie smiled. She loved her new life. She'd never been so happy. But Giovanni was still out there. It had been a decade, sure, but that never stopped Giovanni.
"Oh yeah! Burned!" Joey said.
Meowth groaned.
"You know, Meowth," Jessie said, "it's really sad when a Pokemon can't beat a human at a game that's based on its own kind."
"Eh, shadup."
Joey and Jessie grinned at each other. Little did they know that their quiet life was about to be shattered - possibly forever.
"Mom! What's for breakfast?"
"I want pancakes!"
"No! Waffles!"
"Screw you both, we're getting doughnuts, right, dad?"
"No fair, Joey!"
Jessie and James groaned as they lay snuggled up in bed that morning.
"Well, so much for 'us' time, huh?" James said.
"James, we need to get away from this place for our anniversary. We need time to ourselves."
"I know but how can we have that? Unless we get a Jenny willing to do a threesome."
"James...you are truly dense."
"I know. I can't believe we'll be married ten years this Saturday."
"Yeah...I love you so much, James."
"Well, I'm a loveable kind of guy."
Jessie laughed. "Yeah, yeah, Mr. Modesty. Hey, the girls aren't whining."
"Relax yous twos, Meowth's got it!" Meowth said, walking in carrying a frying pan.
"Meowth? Why are you cooking?" James asked. "That's my job. Jessie! He stole my job!"
"Shadup! I just thought yous might like more cuddling time," Meowth winked.
"You must get your dirty mind from him, James," Jessie said, rolling her eyes.
"Well, dirty mind or not, this was very nice of you, Meowth. Thanks," James said.
"Don't mention it. Just keep the screaming down to a minimum. Children are present, ya know." And with that he left.
"Stupid cat. Can't live with him -"
"Can't live without him," James finished, pulling Jessie closer to him.
"Do you think we're out of the woods? With Giovanni?" Jessie asked.
"I don't know, Jess. I really don't. But listen, Team Rocket has doubled its size. No one better mess with us," James smiled, kissing his wife's head.
"I guess you're right," Jessie sighed, falling more into James's embrace.
"Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"Will we ever want to have more kids?"
Jessie propped herself up on her elbow. "Do you want more, James?"
"Not now. I mean, later on. We're only twenty-seven, our time isn't up yet. And let's face it, Jess, we're not gonna stop having sex."
Jessie fell back onto her pillow. "How long has it been?"
"Only a month...or two..."
"My god. We're twenty-seven and haven't had sex in two months! What the hell is wrong with us, James?"
"We're busy with the girls. And with me working at the PokeMart, we know how weird my hours can get."
"Yeah...I just - I just wish we could be intimate more often."
"I know, Jess. Me too." James brushed her hair out of her face. She hadn't worn it the way she had in Team Rocket for a long time. She always let it hang. "Well, what's stopping us from doing it now?"
Jessie giggled. "The girls are right outside, James..."
"So?"
"So...what will they tell their friends?"
"Who cares? I saw my parents doing it tons of times."
"Ew. I'm surprised you still have the urge to have sex after seeing that."
"Well, I do. So, Jess? Do you...you know...wanna?"
"You dunderhead, why are you so nervous?"
"I'm not! I just don't want to push you."
"You aren't. Come on, blue boy, under the covers," Jessie said, snuggling down under the covers, James joined her.
"Mom! Jennie's in the bathroom and I need to get in!" Joey yelled.
James and Jessie got out of bed gradually and got dressed. Jessie went up to the bathroom door and knocked. "Jennie Ann, you come out in five minutes, understood?"
"Joey, you tattler!"
"How do you know it was me, Miss Priss?"
"Jeanette's a kindly sister! She'd never do that!" Jeanette beamed at her sister's complement.
"Three minutes and counting!" Jessie called from the kitchen.
"Ugh, we were so close to stopping the streak," James said, taking a sip of coffee.
"I know. Well, there's always Saturday right?" Jessie smirked.
"Totally."