Back to Zero

L.R.T.

The two rival Rockets stopped walking, both looking between two paths that only seemed to lead them even further into the forest. They were already exhausted and had no clue where they were, no clue where their partners were. Perhaps worst of all, they were stuck with each other - something that neither would be overly thrilled about on a good day, let alone after getting shot into the stratosphere by an angry Lugia.

Clothes torn, hair a mess, scratches in some of the most unsavory of places, the two had done little more than shoot catty one-liners at each other every now and then; it was probably the only thing keeping either of them from stabbing the other in the neck with a branch. The fork in the road gave them an opportunity to put themselves out of the misery of the other's company and look for their respective missing partners on their own. It wasn't until Butch started down one path that James stopped him, adding to the gravelly voiced man's annoyance.

"What is it?" he spat, spinning around and glaring at him. "Are you too scared to be by yourself, you fucking baby?"

James returned his cold glare, clenching his fists in an effort to keep them at his side and not smack into Butch's face. "As a matter of fact, unlike you, I was actually thinking about our partners."

Butch snorted and crossed his arms, blowing a piece of hair out of his eyes. "What? You think about Jessie? Shocker."

"Not like that!" he growled, pain shooting through his fists from holding them so tightly. "Jessie and Cassidy would never agree to split up. They would only argue that the other was right about everything they were saying and that they couldn't take the heat, meaning that neither would go off on their own purely out of their own stubbornness and they would just keep yelling at each other until they went hoarse."

Shaking his head, Butch replied, "Wouldn't matter with Cassidy. She knows sign language."

"I didn't realize that giving people the finger was now considered 'sign language'," James retorted.

"Hey," he started, taking a step toward the other Rocket and pointing at him, "Cassidy's smarter than a lot of people give her credit for. Including me."

James raised an eyebrow, a small smirk forming on his lips. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were falling for her, Botch."

He narrowed his eyes at him again. "And if I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were itching for a good ass-kicking."

"I'd like to see you -" He stopped himself, shutting his eyes and taking a deep breath, clenching and unclenching his fists. "My whole point was that we should stay together because they'll stay together. I don't particularly care if you wander off into the woods and are never heard from again but I would rather not be alone with Jessie and Cassidy." Raising both of his eyebrows now, he looked to Butch. "No man deserves that fate."

Thinking about the possible outcome of any length of time spent with both girls, he couldn't help but shudder a little. "I can't believe I'm saying this...you make a good point, John."

He rolled his eyes and started with Butch once again down the same path. "At least I've never bothered to get your name right. You've called me 'James' plenty of times before."

"That was before you started saying mine wrong on purpose, just to be a little dick."

"In all fairness..." James began, glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, trying not to laugh, "Jessie forgot your name at a very crucial point once, too."

Butch stopped and clenched his teeth, grabbing the other man by the collar of his grunt disguise and slamming him back against the hard trunk of a nearby tree. "Say her name to me again. I fucking dare you."

Trying to hide the fear he felt snaking its way from his stomach up to his chest, James sneered at him, "Jessie."

Yelling out, he pulled a fist back and let it go, connecting with James's cheek and causing both agents to cry out in their own pain. Butch clutched his hand, muttering swear words left and right while James slumped down against the tree trunk, the force of the blow knocking his head back against it and doubling his pain.

"I told you!" Butch scolded, pumping his fingers to make sure they were still in working order. "Fucking hell, you moron!"

James looked up at him, a purple and blue bruise already starting to form on his cheek. "Just wait until she sees this. Like she isn't scared of you enough already."

Opening his mouth to snap back at him, he stopped and closed it, lowering his head. Turquoise hair fell into chocolate-brown eyes, the white-hot rage in them giving way to shame. Quietly, he asked, "She's afraid of me?"

"What did you expect?" James frowned, confused by his rival's reaction. "You threw her into a wall."

"I didn't mean to," he said quickly.

"Well, we don't mean to stink at our jobs but look how well that turned out!"

Butch slowly dropped to his knees on the dirt pathway, eyes locked on the ground. "Even Cassidy's been weird with me since then."

Rubbing his cheek and frowning more, James retorted, "I can't imagine why."

Lips moving with his head in the clouds, he continued to muse out loud to himself without filtering his thoughts for his present company, "I love her and I hate that I do because she hurt me in the most humiliating way imaginable. So when I hurt her, it was..." he trailed off, squeezing his eyes shut.

James swallowed hard, the similarities between what Butch was describing and what he had experienced himself with Jessibelle making him feel sick to his stomach. "She won't ever love you if you keep doing those things." He lowered his head as well and let out a long sigh. "Believe me."

A small, sad smile appeared on his face, almost blacked out by the shadow of his dangling hair against his skin. "She won't ever love me period."

He nodded slightly, wincing as he touched the back of his head. "It certainly seems that way." Pausing, realizing how cruel what he just said had come off, he added softly, "I mean...I understand. That's all."

Butch laughed to himself and shook his head, looking up at him. "How? How could you possibly understand?"

James met his gaze, sad eyes meeting sadder ones. "Sometimes it's like there's no one else in the world but the two of us...and then some other times..." He sighed again, resting his head back against the tree with a wince. "Other times she talks about how I'm her best friend."

"How fucking stupid are you?"

Blinking a couple of times, he furrowed his brow. "What?"

Butch shook his head, running his good hand back through his hair. "Have you forgotten what a mess she was the second you showed up at headquarters? Or maybe how it wasn't very long after that she called out your name when I got her off? If you had a fucking camera follow the two of you around for just a single day, your tiny little mind would be blown by the amount of times you two find an excuse to touch each other. Fuck, you don't even need an excuse half the time! It's Tuesday, better cling to each other!"

James felt his face become hot, the heat amplifying the pain he felt in his cheek. "I - I don't know -"

He waved his hand at him in dismissal and shook his head again. "Don't give me that shit. You know as well as I do that if Jessie didn't want you just as much as you want her, you wouldn't have functioning fingers right now because she'd break one every time you tried to grab her."

"I - I don't...I don't grab her..."

Letting out a heavy sigh, Butch stood and begrudgingly offered his good hand to his fellow Rocket to help him up. "If you doubt for a single second that she cares about you beyond just being 'best friends'...you don't fucking deserve her."

Standing with Butch's help, James desperately willed his cheeks to stop burning and his voice to work, unable to think of anything to say.

He started walking off without him, saying back over his shoulder, "Will you listen to me this time when I tell you to shut the fuck up?"

All James could manage was a nod, stumbling after him like a Stantler just learning to walk.

"I cannot wait to tell the boss how magnificently you screwed this mission up," Cassidy growled, stomping along behind her own rival.

Keeping a few steps ahead on a dirt path similar to the one their male counterparts were navigating, Jessie shot back, "It was your Pokemon that broke the thing and let the Lugia escape."

"We never would've had to use them if you two weren't there stealing from your own organization!"

"Correction, Cassie: we were stealing from you and Butch to give to the boss ourselves. Huge difference."

"You are such a fucking bitch," Cassidy continued on. "Do you have any idea how much shit we'll be in over this?" Suddenly she let out a sarcastic laugh, tossing her hands up in the air. "Oh, I forgot! You three imbeciles never have to answer for your actions! Everyone else has to walk on eggshells so they don't piss off the boss but you and your precious little James only get a scolding and sent off on Team Rocket's dime to keep trying to grab that fucking Pikachu that the boss probably doesn't even give a shit about anymore!"

"Then why does he let us keep going after it?" Jessie retorted, ignoring the other girl as she caught up with her and kept up her pace at her side.

"To get you the hell away from this kind of shit! He knows you're total fuck-ups but for some reason, he doesn't fire you and instead chooses to try to keep you as far away from all of his plans as possible; and even when you still manage to muck things up, you get to go off and try to get that rodent again without any repercussions!"

"You think we haven't had any repercussions?" she asked, trotting ahead of Cassidy and then standing in front of her, arms crossed. "We barely eat. We get electrocuted daily. We're involved in explosions almost daily. What just happened with that Lugia? That's just another awesome day being Team Rocket for us!" Swallowing hard, she dropped her arms to her side, making her hands into fists. "Do you have any idea how losing to a child every day for years feels when you were once the most respected and feared members Team Rocket had?"

"I'm starting to, thanks to you," she said coldly, her own hands balling up into fists as well. "You have no idea what the boss is capable of. Not one fucking clue." Turning her head away, she shut her eyes. "I hope you never find out."

Jessie stared at her, slightly shocked at how quickly her demeanor had gone from her usual bitchy self to something that felt much, much darker. "How did you find out?" she asked quietly.

Laughing bitterly, she shook her head and began to walk again, hitting her in the shoulder as she passed. "You're the last person on the face of the Earth that I would ever talk to about that."

Giovanni emerged from the door leading to the rooftop of Team Rocket's new Viridian City headquarters, his Persian following and making low hissing sounds as a Rocket helicopter made its descent from the air. He always enjoyed having the upper hand - even when the entire thing enraged him beyond all belief; but playing mind games with his employees often soothed the savage beast, making whatever had angered him in the first place not a complete and total loss.

He smirked as Dr. Namba and several grunts hopped out of the copter once it landed safely. Merely nodding slightly to the grunts as they ran past through the door and down the stairwell, Giovanni was vaguely amused by their soggy appearance, even going so far as to remove a piece of kelp from one of the grunt's heads and toss it aside. Again: not a total loss.

Dr. Namba ambled toward him warily, already wincing in preparation for getting his ass handed to him on a platter. "Giovanni, sir! It wasn't necessary for you to come and greet us..."

"Oh, I disagree," he said as Persian kept guard in front of the door - the only means of escape other than jumping off the building. "I couldn't wait to hear about the progress you made with your invention -"

"Namba's Nasty Pokemon Provoker," he interrupted, cowering immediately after.

Giovanni narrowed his eyes, wondering to himself how he ever let this imbecile talk him into funding all of his work. "Yes - that. I'm waiting with bated breath for your report, Professor."

Taking a deep breath and then laughing nervously, he glanced away from his boss as he spoke, "Well, I managed to save almost all of my data regarding the Pokemon Power Magnifyer -"

"What, exactly, did you have to save it from?"

His mind wandering briefly, he mumbled in response, "Your bratty children, for one thing."

His smirk returned as he fiddled with the rings on his left hand, enjoying the horror wash over the scientist's face upon realizing what he'd just said. "Why Professor...are you saying that someone of your genius couldn't defeat a boy and one of our worst agents?"

Nodding emphatically, Dr. Namba said quickly, "That is exactly what I'm saying, sir! Your children are marvelous - simply marvelous! Strong and tough as nails -"

Giovanni put his hand up to signal him to stop talking. Once he did, the boss of Team Rocket met his scientist's gaze. "So then I take it that this mission -"

"Operation Great Big Lugia," he added quickly, cowering once again right after.

"...Brilliant name. Truly worthy of a scientist of your caliber."

"Th - Thank you! Thank you, Giovanni, sir!"

"That wasn't a compliment," he glowered, taking a step toward him. "I want you to get your bumbling ass down to that lab and get me something I can use out of your 'research'," he said, air quotes and all. "This is the very first building block of what will end up being one of Team Rocket's greatest achievements! Maybe even the greatest, if all goes as planned from here on out. If it doesn't," Giovanni leaned in, lowering his voice to a tone that made even his Persian hunch over in fear, "you'll go from lead scientist to test subject. Given how angry your invention makes Pokemon, I don't think you want that kind of demotion, do you?"

Dr. Namba shook his head and swallowed hard, scrambling for the door once Giovanni nodded to his Persian to move away. "I won't let you down, sir! This research is far too important!"

"Good," he said with a wicked smile. "Because if you thought enraged Pokemon could be dangerous..." He grabbed Namba by the back of the neck, making him yelp out in shock and pain. "You clearly haven't seen me on a bad day." Letting go of him and spinning him around to look him in the eye, the fear in the significantly smaller man's eyes bringing more amusement to Giovanni, he concluded, "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry."

They hadn't even had a chance to explore their new apartment yet - let alone actually look around the headquarters. From what they could gather, it was pretty much the same; though Butch claimed that the "vibes" were much less oppressive than in the old building. It was shortly after that bullshit remark that they collapsed on their respective beds and zonked out.

Wandering into the bathroom, she couldn't help but scowl at the toothbrush sitting in the holder. Butch had run out to get himself a new one, claiming he must have lost his somewhere along the way; Cassidy was pretty positive that what she was looking at was said lost toothbrush. What a fuckwit. Then again, maybe he'd done something unspeakable with it like clean a toilet - in which case, why the hell did he put it back?!

Dumping out her toiletry bag with the vain hope that she wouldn't have to pack the thing again for a long time, Cassidy proceeded to put her things away: toothbrush as far away from the offending one as possible; hair products set out on the sink in a very precise order; birth control pills and more aspirin than any human being should ever have in the medicine cabinet...

She was putting her various shower gels, shampoos, and conditioners away when there was a knock at the door. Immediately she rolled her eyes, making her way to the door and complaining, "How could you possibly lose your keys already?" She opened it, ready to mock him mercilessly but found that it wasn't Butch at the door.

Cassidy stepped back, her stomach dropping to her feet. The visitor stayed in the doorway, visibly amused by her reaction. Finally managing to speak, she stumbled through her question, "S - Sir...Sir! What um...what are you doing here?"

He made his way into the apartment, closing the door and locking it behind him. A familiar sense of dread overwhelmed her; this was it - she was a dead woman. A smirk slowly came across his face before he shortened the gap between them, his larger body tall and menacing over her small frame. She truly thought she was going to be sick all over him.

"I know that we just spoke last night in regards to your failure," he began in a cool tone, resting his hand against the back of the couch, "but I felt that you and I had some unfinished business to tend to."

She shook her head and forced a small smile. "I - I don't think so, sir. We're just fine -"

He grabbed her by the elbow, fingers digging into her skin. "We are not fine." Walking around to the front of the couch, he dragged her along and threw her down on it. He stood above her to keep her from going anywhere, his voice eerily calm, "Seeing you again...well, it made me recall one or two things." Raising an eyebrow, the smirk never leaving his lips, he reached both hands forward and grabbed her breasts through her uniform, deciding, "Yes, I think it was more along the lines of two things."

Squirming, she swatted at his hands - something that made him laugh and stand back up straight, letting her go. She kicked her feet, hitting him several times in the shins and thigh, trying to push him back so she could escape.

Giovanni sighed - almost wistfully - and grabbed an ankle as her foot connected with his knee. He winced, teeth clenching in pain, the smirk and uncharacteristic attitude now gone. He grabbed her other ankle and roughly yanked her off the couch and onto the floor before dragging her to a less cramped area of the living room.

She growled, still kicking her legs against his grasp. Her skirt was tugged up as she was pulled across the floor and she noticed that the smirk had returned at the sight of her panties. There wasn't enough dread in the world that could have prepared her for the realization; she would've been happier if he just killed her.

Eyes darting around frantically, she found nothing in close range that could be used as a weapon. She glanced down at her hands and quickly removed her gloves as he got to his knees and straddled her.

"That's very considerate of you to start stripping, but unfortunately I don't have the time for that." Running his hands up her thighs, pulling up the rest of her uniform as he did, his breathing became more ragged when he reached her panties, hooking his thumbs in the elastic.

His growing arousal was all but dashed quickly enough when several places on his face began burning with pain. Glaring down at her, he pressed himself down against her even harder, using one hand to easily grab both of hers by the wrist and hold them up over her head. "Try using your nails now, you little bitch."

Cassidy growled at him, struggling against his superior strength. Panic, anger, and horror rushed to her brain all at once, making her briefly dizzy and have to shut her eyes. She heard the sound of his belt coming undone and soon after, his zipper. She could feel him against her and it made her shudder in disgust. How could she ever have, at one time, wanted him?

Using his free hand, he tugged her panties down to her knees, then reached up and gripped her face, making her gasp out in pain and open her eyes. "There. Wouldn't want you to miss it, after all."

The amusement returned to his face as he simply sat there for a moment and took in the situation he found himself in. She was snarling at him, still struggling beneath him. She knew better than most anyone what happened to people who didn't keep their word; lucky for her, the thought of killing such an impressive lover seemed like such a waste.

Leaning in, he captured her mouth with his, wasting no time in tasting her as his tongue explored the mouth it had once been so acquainted with.

Rage overtook the other things she was feeling; she wasn't a fucking victim. Inwardly she smirked herself as she gently bit on his tongue, getting a moan in response. The smirk moved outward when she suddenly bit down hard, this time getting a yell of pain instead of a moan.

He let go of her wrists and sat back, holding his hands to his mouth. Pulling them away, he spit into his palms and saw traces of blood. "You fucking whore!" he cried out, catching her as she began to crawl away from him and pinning her down once again. "Do you know what I'm capable of?!" he asked, hitting her in the face the way he had before. He leaned in to her again, the blood from the scratches on his cheeks dribbling down. "I don't even know what I'm capable of."

Ever-defiant, Cassidy leaned up as well and spit in his face. He recoiled and she took the moment to sneer at him, "Everything we ever did was a mistake. You are a mistake."

Wasting no more time with her, he grit his teeth and slammed himself into her as far as their bodies would allow. She cried out and shut her eyes, trying to free her hands - struggling in any way below her waist would only add to his sick pleasure. His free hand moved up underneath her uniform, pulling one cup of her bra down and gripping what was concealed beneath. He moaned at her gasp of pain, pulling completely out of her only to thrust back in again the same way he had before.

All she knew was pain, her cheek starting to sting from his smack, amplified more by the presence of his rings on his fingers. Glaring up at him through teary eyes, an automatic reaction to the pain running through her body at the moment, she hissed at him, "I'm telling Butch everything."

Giovanni laughed, starting to breathe heavier with another hard thrust. "And why would he believe you?" He dug his nails into the flesh of her breast, speeding up his pace yet still hitting her hard and deep inside. A twisted smile spread on his lips at the sound of her pain. "After everything you've done, what a conniving little bitch you are, what would ever make him believe you?" he teased, laughing again at the sight of a tear running down her afflicted cheek.

The loud slam! of the front door made both of them jump, Cassidy's eyes widening in horror at her partner's presence. Giovanni kept the smile on his face, still chuckling, locking eyes with him and entering her again. Shutting her eyes, she let the tears fall not for herself or what he was doing to her - but for Butch having to see it.

"I'd believe her because you're a sick son of a bitch," Butch said coldly, dropping his shopping bag to the floor.

Giovanni turned his head to look just in time to get punched in the nose. He yelled out and fell backward, gingerly touching another part of him that was bleeding. Punching him again, in the jaw this time, Butch kicked him away from her for emphasis.

Clutching his face, body curled in the fetal position for some sense of protection, Giovanni angrily said, "I'll kill you, too!" Pausing for a growl, he added, "Just like I did your useless lump of a father."

Staring at him for a brief moment, Butch only blinked once before yelling and getting on top of him, hitting him repeatedly in the face. Cassidy came over to them and wrapped her arms under his, trying to pull him away, begging him to stop. He did - only at her pleas - and stood in front of her, blocking her from Giovanni's view. "Get out before I break your fucking dick!"

Shakily he stood, groaning in pain, zipping himself back up. Heading for the door, he looked back at them and declared, "You fools have no idea what you've just done."

Butch took a menacing step toward him and yelled, "I said get out!"

The door slammed and he quickly went to lock it, pausing for a minute after only to go grab a kitchen chair and position it under the knob. Slowly he turned and looked at his partner, breathing heavily and letting the wild rage inside him burn itself out.

She stood, leaning against the couch, her eyes meeting his. Swallowing down the growing lump in her throat, she started hoarsely, "I can explain -"

He shook his head and slowly made his way over to her, gently placing a hand against her bruising cheek. "I don't care. I don't care why. I don't care how. It doesn't give him the right to come in here..." he trailed off, turning away from her and running both of his hands through his hair. "Fuck. Fuck!" He punched a couch cushion in frustration, throwing it down on the floor. "I should've killed him. I should've just fucking beat him to death, the piece of -"

"Butch..." she interrupted, voice shaky now as well. She looked at him, eyes filled with uncertainty and a few leftover tears.

Swallowing hard, he went back over to her, placing his hands gently on her cheeks and using his thumbs to wipe away her tears. "I'm so sorry, Cass. God," he said, voice cracking, resting his forehead against hers and shutting his eyes. "I'm just so sorry."

She shook her head a little, mimicking him and placing her hands on his cheeks as well. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I mean, if you hadn't shown up -"

"Don't," he said, opening his eyes and looking into hers. They stood together, caressing each others faces, blinking the only thing that deterred their gaze. Suddenly he dropped his hands, saying quietly, "We should take you to the infirmary...or a hospital...or something..."

Cassidy glanced down, lowering her hands from his face as well. "And say what? We can't just..." she trailed off for a minute before continuing, "No one that works here would dare do anything. You know that. And anyone out there...we're Team Rocket, Butch. No one cares what happens to us."

Tightening his jaw, he said, "I don't accept that."

She turned around and slowly started for the bedroom, wincing at the pain between her legs, her chest, face, and wrists. Even her ankles were sore and likely bruised through her boots.

Butch followed her and stopped her, holding out his arms. "Let me carry you." She nodded a little, still pained when he lifted her into his arms. He placed her on her bed and carefully got in it with her, looking down with slight shock when she curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, careful not to hurt her any more than she already was.

"Your heart's pounding, Butch. Please stop being so angry about -"

"It's not because of that," he said quickly, one hand running through her hair. "It's you."

She bit the inside of her lip, fingers clutching at his black jacket. "I'm fine."

He shook his head. "I know you are. You're tough. Tougher than me. Tougher than almost anybody."

Cassidy smiled a bit more, shutting her eyes and listening to the fast-paced beating of his heart.

With a deep breath, he said, "It's you, Cass. I don't want you to be hurt. It...it's killing me inside and I would do anything to have spared you all of this." Shakily, he let the breath out and closed his eyes as well. "I'm not trying to make you feel bad, I'm just fucking awful at this."

"You don't have to say anything."

"Yeah, I do...I have to say this." After a pause, he quietly continued, "I've been a shitty partner for a long time now...but it's going to stop. It's stopping right now. I know you don't...need me to protect you but..." He tilted his head down and softly kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger as he spoke, "Never again, Cass. I'll kill them myself before anyone gets the chance to hurt you again."

She smiled and let out a soft sigh, the pain and turmoil that dwelled just under the surface effectively rendered meaningless. Reaching up, she brushed her lips against his neck before settling in against his body, fingers still gripping his jacket.

He smiled a little, getting goosebumps from her kiss, letting everything about her slowly melt away any residual anger he felt - for the time being, at least.

His head throbbing, the blood from the scratches on his face drying to a dark red, Giovanni let himself into his rebuilt penthouse and immediately went for the liquor cabinet. He never thought either of them would have it in them to stop him - Butch especially. The only thing that surprised him about Cassidy's reaction was how quickly she melted when her partner walked in. It seemed that he'd greatly underestimated how much she cared about him, causing him to wonder what else he'd been wrong about in the past few months - namely, Miyamoto.

He put thoughts of her out of his head and focused on both his drinking and his plan for revenge. He had a vague idea of what he would do to ruin his top agents' miserable lives but unfortunately, it hindered on Dr. Namba making any kind of progress with his research. This was why he so loathed counting on anyone but himself to take care of things; even the agents that were once his best assassins were now struggling to accomplish even the most menial of tasks. He was always inevitably let down both personally and professionally, it seemed.

Simply killing Butch and Cassidy or sentencing them to hard, truly pointless labor wasn't enough for the indignities he had to endure. Torture was always a good option but who had the energy for that anymore? Giovanni didn't want blood stains smeared across the new headquarters yet, anyway. Mental torture seemed much more fitting - if only that idiot Namba could make it work.

Hearing the penthouse door behind him click shut, he took another swig of booze right from the bottle and turned to see that his day was only getting better and better. "Back so soon?"

Miyamoto frowned as she walked toward him, arms crossed. "What the fuck happened to you?"

Giovanni shrugged slightly, looking at her through hooded eyes. "A project gone awry. It's been taken care of."

"Unfortunately, you haven't," she replied, walking past him into the bathroom.

He continued to drink, watching as she returned with a wet washcloth and stood in front of him expectantly. "Has the Orange Island headquarters really been squared away so soon?" Eyes narrowing as she grabbed the bottle from him and set it back on the cabinet, he continued, "Or did you simply miss me too much to stay away?"

She rolled her eyes and began dabbing at the wounds on his face with the washcloth. "Yes, it's all been taken care of." Pausing for a moment, she then added, "And, for what it's worth, yes - I suppose I did miss you. My day isn't complete without you belittling me or smacking me around for one stupid thing or another."

He eyed her, wincing as she continued to tend to his injuries. Miyamoto was the only person that he'd never been disappointed by. She was insufferable at times and he often let that get the best of him, but she was never anything but straightforward with him. What negative feelings he felt toward her in the past were only the result of her fighting back against him - rightfully so, most of the time.

Whether it was the drinking, the pain, or the fact that his most primal urges still weren't satisfied, Giovanni said quietly, "It's easier to be a bastard than it is to trust anyone when most of your life was nothing but a series of elaborate tricks and lies."

Miyamoto raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that...something of an apology? Coming from you?"

Leaning back against the cabinet, he laughed softly to himself. "Ever since I sent you away, the speed at which things have gone downhill rivals that of the speed of light, I'm sure."

"Don't be so dramatic."

Looking up at her with a heavy sigh, he met her eyes with his and admitted, "I wish I were."

"So..." she began, setting the washcloth on the cabinet, "I take it that this whole situation," she said, gesturing to his face, "was a direct result of that downward spiral?"

"Yes, I'm afraid someone did beat you to the punch, Miyamoto."

"Literally," she smirked, grabbing the bottle of liquor and taking a swig herself before offering it to him. "I hope you realize that I'm taking all of this to mean that you're a fucking moron and can't live without me and will only ever raise your hand to me again if you plan on doing something sexy with it."

He took a drink from the bottle as well, using the sleeve of his jacket to wipe his lips after. "You truly are one of a kind."

"Irreplaceable."

Giovanni smirked as she took another drink, watching as she downed it like a champ with a stomach made of iron. "I'm realizing that."

She shrugged slightly, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "For what it's worth...you're in a category all your own, too. For better or for worse."

"Is that your way of saying that you can't live without me, either?"

Raising an eyebrow at him, she set the bottle back down and grabbed the washcloth again. "Oh, no. I can." She turned on her heel and started for the bathroom, stating over her shoulder, "It just wouldn't be nearly as exciting."