Jessie/James
Animeverse
Every night he went to bed with the same feeling:
He just wanted to take her away from it all.
He'd watch Jessie carefully brush her hair out and then struggle to find a way to get comfortable in whatever corner of the forest they were sleeping in tonight, then drift off to sleep, looking grumpy as always but still oh-so-beautiful. Sometimes, when Meowth was asleep as well, he'd just stare at her for hours, treasuring each time she smiled, wondering what she was dreaming about.
He knew that he could easily snap his fingers and take them both away from there. He'd realized long before that he loved her, and he thought that by now, his parents would accept her if it meant having their son back. He missed home, missed his parents, missed Chimey, and while he didn't miss Jessibell... He was certain that he could marry Jessie and never have to hear that awful woman's name again. That his parents would respect that choice, and then he and she could live in peace and riches forever, no more stress, no more chasing down the twerps, no more snow sandwiches, and no more pine needles in their hair.
But Jessie had voiced before that she wanted to earn her fame and money – honestly or dishonestly, it didn't matter, but she wanted it on her own, not handed to her. Not to mention that he was quite certain she wouldn't marry him so easily, not even just for the money or just to keep Jessibell off of him. The abuse she dished out, the distance she kept between them, and the way she flirted with other men said it all; she thought of James only as her partner at worst, friend at best. She would never see him the way he saw her.
So as he drifted off to sleep each night, he thought long and hard about ways to help her win more contests, because it was the only way he knew to make her happy. And thinking about it made him smile all through the night.
Every morning she woke up with the same feeling:
She just wanted to get away from it all.
Sometimes she'd wake up from dreams of a life of luxury in one of James's many villas, just them, their pokémon, and a big kitchen for Meowth. She'd joined Team Rocket under the romantic notion of proving herself, earning money and notoriety by becoming a big criminal, and fulfilling promises to another man... A man she was sure didn't even remember her by now.
How many years had she wasted, running around after the same group of kids, trying to steal their pokémon or any other ones that might finally earn her and James the respect and promotions they were after? Three or four at least; she'd lost track both of time and of the places they'd been by now. Finally she'd found some sense of purpose beyond the daily monotony, something to distract her from her constant hunger and broken nails, in the form of Coordinating. She was, surprisingly, fairly good at it too, though James's pokémon were better suited for it than her own, and most of her victories came with their help. Most everything came only with James's help; it was quite likely she wouldn't have survived this long without him by her side.
So most mornings, she'd wake up before him – because James slept like a baby and never woke up until someone made him, not from the sun like she tended to – and just watch him and the way he smiled for a while. She envied how easily pleased he was, how he could be happy out here when he had so much back home that he could claim in a heartbeat. Sometimes she'd reach for his hand, but always she'd stop herself halfway, not willing to let herself admit it.
After all, Jessie was quite certain that her literal partner in crime didn't swing her way; it was the only explanation she could imagine for why he hadn't made a move on her in all their time traveling together, and why he wanted to help her with her contests so much. It helped explain his resistance to going home and getting married, as well. And Jessie couldn't let herself go through the pain of being in love with a gay man... no matter how much the idea made her smile.
