Hate and Love
Summary: Domino is having some issues. Rated T, One shot.
Characters: Domino, Archer.
Spoilers: You might want to finish reading "Stand by You" before reading this, but you might be able to enjoy it as a stand alone.
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"Jessie, Jessie, Jessie. Why do I still hate that name so much?" Domino asked her partner.
"I can think of a few reasons, though none of them are very well justified", came the response.
Domino and got up out of her cozy position on the couch and limped over to her partner. He smiled and welcomed her onto his lap.
"Foot still bothering you?" he asked. He didn't seem too concerned.
It's not like his tough-as-nails companion ever complained about something as frivolous as physical pain.
"Clearly. But it is not just about the foot. I hate how Giovanni recruited me and you to help turn that stupid mansion into his fiancé's Pokémon hospital. You'd think the grunts, Pokémon, and hired hands would be enough. Plus he has all those kids. Why are we stuck helping? I swear that Delia woman is changing him", she ranted. "Last year he never would have hired me or you to do such demeaning work".
"You accepted the job", he pointed out.
"I need the money", she said curtly. "We need the money. Argh! This whole thing is Jessie's fault!"
"So you blame Jessie our near-poverty status, your foot injury, and our measly promotion?" her partner inquired.
Domino nodded as she took a sip from his water glass. She put the glass down, wiped her mouth, and then continued on with her rant.
"Yes", she finally answered.
Archer didn't have to ask her to continue, she did so without any prodding.
"Think about it", she started. "Jessie gets herself tangled up in Team Rocket business after she and the rest of her team is fired. Subsequently, Team Firestar captures her. As a result, you, her, and me are trapped under the same conditions. Giovanni, with his forces dwindling, now has to focus on rescuing all three of us, when he really only had enough troops to focus on getting you and I back. Jessie, being Miyamoto's daughter, gets priority, even though she is no longer on Team Rocket and was essentially useless to our mission. Later she becomes somewhat useful to our cause, and Giovanni hires her back out of sympathy, and even gives her a promotion. Then we find out that she got herself knocked up, and she wins a shit ton of money after suing the Morgans and Winchesters, so she decides to get married and live happily ever after. Meanwhile, you and I, who suffered just as much, are still in the same positions we were a year ago. And I wouldn't have broken my foot if her stupid Wobbufet didn't drop a box of silverware on it while we were helping to move things out of the mansion".
"I knew you could hate, what I didn't realize is how jealous you could be", he smirked. "Honestly I had no idea the cold-hearted Black Tulip would be envious of someone else's 'happily ever after'. Besides, why just hate Jessie? It is James' fault too".
"Jessie is just easier to hate", Domino answered quickly. Truthfully, she had always had a soft spot for James, ever since their training days, but she wasn't the type of person who admitted things like that.
"Fair enough", he replied, not wanted to drag it out any further.
"We need to get Giovanni to give us a better promotion. Now that he has billionaires funding his major projects, he should be able to pay us more", Domino suggested.
"True. But he always had billionaires funding his projects. He is going to put that money to use", said Archer.
"What are we supposed to do? I am twenty-four years old, and I can't live like this. Sure, we get to fly in private jets and eat fancy food and wear nice clothes, but everything is borrowed. I want my own wealth", she ranted.
Domino got off of her partner's lap and headed for the bathroom.
"I am taking a really long bath. Do not disturb me", she warned, glaring daggers.
"Ok", he replied defensively. "Let me know if you need any help. Because of your foot, I mean".
Domino smirked and then shut the door behind her. Archer sighed deeply and got up to make them some tea.
"She doesn't really want to be rich", he thought to himself. "I know her better. She likes enjoying luxury, but at the end of the day, she likes not having to be responsible for so much wealth. Being rich is stressful. Neither of us needs that in our lives. But what does she need? She seems to have everything she ever wanted already".
He listened to the water running in the other room. Archer tried to imagine what his partner was thinking, since it was unlikely that she was going to tell him herself.
"She has great Pokémon, she doesn't want anymore", he thought. "She has a lot of respect in the TR community. She was promoted after we took down Team Firestar, and even though the raise wasn't much, it was something. Why would she be jealous of someone like Jessie? What does Jessie have that she doesn't, besides wealth? A daughter? Nah, Domino doesn't wasn't kids. We both hate kids. James? She says that she likes me. If she liked James, she would have taken him a while ago. Plus, he isn't her type. Friends? Domino has friends. In fact, she has more friends than Jessie. Why is she so confusing? She always tells me what she wants. Why not this time?"
When Domino finally emerged from the bathroom a full two hour later, Archer was passed out on the couch. She poured herself a mug of the now-lukewarm tea that he had made and turned on the TV, keeping the volume low so not to wake him up. The default show was a soap opera. She hastily changed the channel, only to discover that they had both neglected pay the cable bill, and they were now stuck with just three options.
"Fuck. I am going to ring his neck when I get up, It was his turn to pay", Domino thought to herself as she glanced at his sleeping form.
"I shouldn't be mad, not at Archer, anyway", she thought. "I never reminded him".
She flipped back to the telenovela. It was in Spanish, but since she was multilingual, she could still understand the dialogue. Some woman was throwing a hissy fit because her so-called boyfriend refused to propose.
"A veces", the woman lamented. "A veces, neccesito un hombre a hacer una promesa y faltarla. Nada mas".
Domino snorted. "I know how that feels", she said aloud.
"How what feels?" asked Archer.
Her partner sat up on the couch, yawned and stretched. He looked at Domino with two sleepy eyes and a slight grin.
"How long have you been awake?" she asked defensively.
"Hmmm? Just a few seconds", he answered groggily. I just heard you say 'I know how that feels" in my dream and then I woke up'. Are you watching a Telenovela?"
"Its…..You forgot to pay the cable bill", she responded quickly. Domino turned the TV off and twisted her body so that she was face-to-face with her partner. "I was just seeing what was on, but there isn't much".
Archer looked at the clock on coffee table. "You must have had a nice bath. Your hair is still damp, so you must have just gotten out", he responded. "You ok?"
"I'm fine", she said curtly, folding her arms over her chest.
"Then why are you hiding something?" he asked suspiciously.
"I am not hiding anything. How dare you accuse me!" she exclaimed.
"I am not angry, I'm just curious. You can keep secrets if you want to. I just think makes both of our lives easier if we agree that we can be open with one another. I am not hiding anything from you", he explained.
Domino was silent. "I am not dealing with this right now", she said over and over again in her head. "I'm not the sentimental type".
Archer watcher her slam the bedroom door.
"Does this mean I am sleeping on the couch?" he called.
"Yes", she replied, her voice a muffled sob.
"Shit", Archer though to himself. "This isn't about the cable bill. What could she be so upset over? She's not sick, other than her foot, but she has a very high pain tolerance and a broken foot is like a paper cut. She's not pregnant, unless she cheated on me. But would she do that? When would she do that? We spend most of our time together, and when we are apart we almost always have alibis. And technically it wouldn't really be cheating, since we agreed that it would be okay to sleep with other people, I just thought that should would have told me first…is she feeling guilty?...no….I'm getting ahead of myself. Besides, Domino doesn't even feel guilt. It's like her superpower. Maybe she is bored with me and wants to live with someone else. Maybe I just did something stupid and I don't remember and she is waiting for me to figure it out. I better just try to get some sleep and worry about this when I am better rested".
"Ok, goodnight, Domino", Archer called. "If you decide you want to talk, just wake me up, ok?"
There was no response. Archer sighed and resumed his position on the couch, hoping that it wouldn't become his permanent resting place.
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Domino was the first one up. She entered the kitchen/living room and saw Archer passed out on the little couch. He was curled into a fetal position and muttering something in his sleep. She put some tea on the stove, then walked over to him and pushed him awake.
"Hey, I'm sorry about making you sleep out here", she said.
"Is that sincerity I hear?" he asked in sarcastic awe. "Praise to the lord!"
"Hilarious", she responded, smacking him with a pillow. "I am ready to talk about what is bothering me".
Archer raised his eyebrows in surprise and made room on the couch for her to sit.
"I want you to tell me what you think first though", said Domino. "Before I tell you what is bothering me. Maybe we are on the same page".
Archer sweat dropped. "You are not afraid that I am going to tell you something that you don't want to hear?" he asked.
"I am not afraid of anything, remember?" she replied.
"Fair point", he responded.
Archer shifted nervously, struggling to find the right words to convey how he felt. As much as he hated the idea of talking about this first thing in the morning, he knew how rare it was for Domino to actually open up to him like this. He wasn't going to risk asking her to talk later.
"The truth is, I was thinking about it for most of the night. It seems like you want me to do something that I cannot do, like I am not enough for you", he whispered sadly. "Domino, if you want to move on, just do it. Please don't play with me. It will hurt less if you just tell me to leave instead of holding onto me and being miserable. I want you to be happy. If leaving me makes you happy, then just let me know and I will move out".
Archer's voice cracked on the last few words. She never saw him cry before. Her face fell, and she almost showed her weakness too, until she realized that this was a good thing. She started to chuckle and placed a hand under his chin, lifting it so that she could look him directly in the eyes.
"Good", she replied, giving him a kiss.
Archer immediately pulled away and demanded to know what she was getting at.
"You are so thick", said Domino. "I don't want you to leave. I want to marry you!"
"Huh? Since when?" Archer demanded, his voice was more confused than angry. "Are you playing with me? Dammit Domino you can be so…..so…"
"Manipulative?" she suggested.
"Yes. Manipulative. That is the best word to describe you", he decided.
"Its part of my job. Giovanni hired because I can manipulate other people so easily", said Domino. "But we are not talking about work. We are talking about us".
"You…..you really want to get married? But you hate sentimental stuff!" Archer exclaimed.
"Well, I never said I wanted a traditional wedding. I would do it, if you wanted, but I don't really care. I just want you to promise not to leave me", she explained. "So? What do you say? You finally know what I want. What do you want?"
"Right now I just want a glass of water", he replied honestly.
Domino got up and poured him a glass of water, which he gulped down like he had not had anything to drink in days. He put the glass down to think for a few moments.
"I was already hoping to ask you", he admitted. "I never thought I would go through with it. After all, you suggested having an open relationship, I figured commitment to one person was the last thing you wanted".
"I….I only said that because I assumed it was what you wanted", Domino confessed. "I am done sleeping around. Really, it was fun while it lasted, but now I just want some stability".
"And by stability, you mean love", Archer translated, a sarcastic grin started to grow on his face. .
"Archer…don't….", Domino pleaded.
Domino could not bring herself to admit that she possessed a weakness such as love for another person. That was for the weak, ignorant, and soft. Only idiots like Jessie, James, and their twerpy friends fell in love.
"The one thing that Jessie has that Domino wants but doesn't have, is true love", Archer thought to himself. "But she wont admit it. She is too proud".
"Domino, I am not going to marry you unless you say 'I love you'", said Archer. "If you are too proud to admit that, then I don't think we are going to last very long".
Domino bit her tongue. "Damn. Now he's being the manipulative one", she thought to herself.
"Ok. Archer, I…..I love you", she said deliberately.
Archer embraced her and kissed her on the cheek. She returned the hug, not sure of what to do next.
"I love you too", he whispered, holding her tighter.
When he let go, Archer could have swore he saw a tear in one of Domino's eyes, but she whisked it away before he could get a second glance.
"So you can have sleep with me all night, have sex for hours, and ask me to marry you but if I ask you to say 'I love you" and give you a hug, you get awkward?" he asked.
"Ok, so I am a little weird. I am just not used to affection. You are the only person who has ever really shown me any", she replied.
"I am sorry that that happened to you. I will just have to love you enough to make up for all those lost years", he responded.
"Thanks", Domino replied, kissing him on the cheek. "Can we start now?"
"What do you suggest?" he asked.
"I suggest blowing off Giovanni and then breaking into one of the summer homes that Jessie and James told us about so that we can fool around and maybe plan a future while we are at it", she said in one breath. "I have a foot injury anyway, so its not like I would be too helpful on a mission right now anyway. It will be like therapy for me".
"I can't argue with that logic. I will call us out sick", Archer replied, picking up his cell phone.
Later the two of them were one a plane, on their way to the Sinnoh region, where an empty and forgotten mansion was waiting for them.
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