Love and Dependency

It's amazing how things change when you start having a relationship with your boss. And as time passes, people begin to notice, the whispering starts and then soon enough your friends start avoiding you. My case was of no exception. The executives knew about it, the janitor knew about it… everyone knew about it! Though, I don't know what frustrated me more, the fact that everyone knew or the fact that Giovanni really didn't seem to care.

In fact, at work, it was like there was nothing between us at all. He seemed to be made of stone. He was either emotionless or screaming down the halls at whoever dared bring him bad news about some sort of failed mission. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as though I expected him to treat me any different on a professional level. I had my agreement to live up to and a debt to pay off. But sometimes on the long afternoons when I had nothing else to do, I found my mind beginning to wander on things of a not so professional nature.

Giovanni spent a lot of time between three places: the gym, Headquarters and his latest project on New Island. Sometimes I accompanied him on these visits and other times I didn't. He was always working but then again so was I… which in a strange way made our relationship work. Because wherever Giovanni went, I was almost always there along with him. Sometimes I had to wonder if he did actually have feelings for me or was it more for the convenience? I had to admit, in a strange way, I'd allowed myself to become completely dependent on him. Was this what love was? Dependency?

Regardless, Giovanni never failed at treating me well. We dined at expensive restaurants and stayed at luxury hotels. He was a committed man in all endeavours which included ensuring that I remained content in this relationship of ours. And all he expected in return was my loyalty and my silence.

Months passed and at some point we found ourselves staying at a cabin on an Island south of Cinnabar called Chrono Island. Located about half way between New Island and Kanto, the partially deserted tropical sandbar proved to be the unofficial outpost for scientists to stay when they weren't working at the New Island lab. The entire Island had been a popular holiday resort once, but was eventually abandoned when the Orange Islands started a small Pokémon League of their own. So needless to say, when Giovanni approached the resort's owner with an offer to take it off his hands, he was more than willing to hand over the keys.

The resort was only very small, so its version of a 'luxury suite' was simply somewhere for newlyweds to spend their honeymoon and proved to be less than productive for Giovanni's purposes. In the end he decided to build a cabin further down the coast. The cabin sat atop the highest point of the island and looked down over the water. The cabin was small for Giovanni's standards but it was self contained and secluded - the perfect place to retreat to when he didn't want to be disturbed.

This particular summer evening, as the sun began on its slow decent, Giovanni was frustrated by yet another setback on New Island. His Mew clones had so far failed to make it past the gestation phase and his scientists were quickly running out of available DNA. Creating a pure Mew - an exact replica - would prove to be impossible and so now they faced with the prospect of splicing the DNA with other Pokémon, and therefore creating a type of mutant. The risks were phenomenal and so this compelled the team of scientists to first experiment on other Pokémon, starting with Kanto's three starters. If these proved successful then they would move right back into creating what had now been labelled 'Mewtwo'. Of course, the idea appalled me. But I knew that, given Giovanni's frame of mind right then, attempting to reason with him would prove to be useless. The only thing I had to rely on was the fact that there was a good chance these experiments would also fail.

And so on this particular evening, I'd decided to get someone to deliver ingredients to the cabin so that I could cook dinner while Giovanni finished off his long workday at his desk in the bedroom. I vaguely overheard a heated telephone discussion but zoned it out and concentrated on cooking. The ingredients were of local origin which included Seaking fillets and several island grown fruits and vegetables. It would be a light meal of simple delicacies only to be topped off with a special zesty sauce that would bring out the flavours of the islands. And while I hadn't cooked with several of these ingredients before, I still had a fair idea of what to expect taste wise. It was a recipe I'd received from a local lady who worked in the kitchen of Giovanni's hotel. We'd eaten there on several occasions and I'd approached her, asking of the interesting properties of the food she'd prepared for us. She simply smiled knowingly and in her scratchy scrawl she'd written it all down on a napkin, saying that everything taken from the island had special properties. I never realised how 'special' these properties were until much later, though the thought did cross my mind as to why the Slowpoke population thrived here.

"Merrow," smelling my cooking, Persian expectantly pawed at my leg.

"Oh Persian, I'm coming." Wiping my hands on my apron I reached for the newspaper-wrapped fish and peeled off an extra fillet. I grabbed a plate before placing it gently on the floor by the cat's feet which he happily consumed.

Once I finished my sauce, I allowed it to simmer and thicken. The aromas that came from the pot were intoxicating and this too seemed to strike Persian's interest. Scooping some up into a bowl, I allowed him a taste which he polished off quickly.

"It's nice to have your seal of approval, I smiled at him."

He thanked me in that little Pokémon language of his and as Giovanni stepped from the office/bedroom, Persian quickly made his departure outside to go and spend the night terrorising the local wildlife.

At the time I'd noticed there was a small Meowth population on the island and therefore figured Persian had perhaps made some friends. Unfortunately, what I hadn't also realised was the potency of the cocktail I'd since fed him. And so while Giovanni and I spent the evening together, his prized, pedigree Persian was off creating little pedigrees of his own.

"This is exquisite," Giovanni said, which for him was an exceptionally rare compliment. As I'd hoped, his less that desirable disposition had mellowed with the evening and he'd since replaced his suit and tie with a more relaxed Hawaiian shirt and board shorts. It was the eve of Sunday and much to my delight he'd decided we both needed to take the next day off and spend it relaxing on the Island.

"Thank you," I beamed. While this wasn't the first time I'd cooked for him, it wasn't often that the opportunity came up. "It's a local recipe."

"So do you get your cooking talents from you mother?"

I found myself taken aback at his sudden interest in my family and blinked, "Yes. She is an amazing cook. It's always been her dream to open up an eatery or something of the sort. She loves to feed people, even looking after the neighbours if someone gets sick."

"Your mother sounds like a lovely woman."

"She is." I smiled. "I miss her so much."

Giovanni nodded. "That's understandable. You know you've been working for me for more than a year now. You are entitled to take a week to go and see them if you wish."

My eyes immediately lit up. "Oh I would love that Giovanni."

"Very good," he said. "I'll make arrangements for you to go see them when we get back to the mainland."

By the time we finished dinner, Giovanni was relaxed and content. We retired down to the beach, bringing with us a bottle of wine and watched the moonrise over the ocean. It was a quiet moment alone that we'd seldom gotten these past few weeks, and as I lay back on my elbows and Giovanni on his side, it wasn't long before I felt the light touch of his fingers that toyed with a button on my blouse. I offered him a lazy smile before sitting up and kissing him gently, allowing myself to linger on his lips. There was something about this evening. I felt so… alive. And I knew he felt it too.

Giovanni responded to the kiss and pressed his mouth into mine. His hand briefly rested on my hip before, in a single motion, he rolled me on my back, his forceful kisses making their way down my neck. I let an excited gasp escape my lips, his every contact on my skin sending tingles through my body. My fingers made rough trails through his hair as I felt the pressure of his arousal through my skirt.

"Delia." His breath was warm on my ear. "I love you."

I flopped back down onto my pillow beside him, giggling like a little school girl and gasping for air. I turned my head to face him under the sunrise, my eyes tracing the lines of his beautiful body bathed in sunlight.

"Legendaries," Giovanni heaved, utterly exhausted. "What did you put in that sauce last night?"

"I'm not sure, but whatever it was, it was potent." I laughed, enjoying the last traces of euphoria that gradually settled into the sense of peace which always came after lovemaking.

Rolling onto my side, I placed a hand across his chest, feeling it rise and fall with his quick breathing. Giovanni grabbed it, pressing it up against his heart in a gesture that seemed so small and yet said so much. The determined gleam in his eyes had been replaced by a genuine trust; one that spoke of two hearts joined together to form this beautiful, united bond between us. Freeing my hand from his grasp, I gently drew a finger along the lines of his face, tracing his rigid, square jaw and the intoxicating lips that made me want to lose myself to him again and again. It was these lips that I kissed with firm conviction before finally laying my head down to rest upon his chest.

"Delia?" I felt Giovanni's voice vibrate up through his chest. "Are you happy?"

I frowned at his words before pulling myself upright to face him again. "Of course I'm happy Giovanni."

Giovanni nodded and for a moment there was silence between us.

"Why do you ask?"

More silence, more contemplation… until finally he sat up, wrapping the sheets around his waist and rested his elbows on his knees. He had a pained look on his face, as though he'd just felt the impact of the weight of the world resting on his shoulders.

"What is it, Giovanni?" Pulling the same sheet over my chest, I placed a worried hand on his shoulder.

The Crime Lord swallowed. "It's just that… I haven't felt this way since… well..."

"Your wife?"

His head fell into a nod. "Yes."

"And you feel guilty?"

He frowned, creases forming on his forehead. "It's not what you think. It's just that…" he hesitated. "I'm a tyrant, Delia. I'm ruthless, domineering and brutal. I know this because they're qualities that I pride myself on." His face was stern now, the genuineness in his eyes of only moments before now long forgotten. "I will not change. Nor will I conform to anyone else's ideals."

I copied his frown. "Giovanni, when have I ever asked you to change?"

"Never. But I am very well aware of your stance when it comes to certain Team Rocket operations."

"This never seemed to bother you before."

"No, but like you, there were things of a certain nature that greatly distressed my wife also. Things that drove a wedge between us and led to her eventually giving up on life all together."

The impact of his statement hit me harder than he had intended. It took a moment to sink in and then another for me to catch my breath. His wife killed herself?

And suddenly I realised the look in his eyes was not stern deliberation at all, it was guilt.

"You feel she killed herself… because of you?"

Giovanni chose not to reply, though by the way his shoulders sagged I could tell he felt it. My heart ached at seeing him this way, even in spite of the fact that he no doubt had the blood of many other persons on his hands.

"Giovanni," I now wrapped my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulders. "I'm not your wife. I may be morally opposed to certain things you do, but that isn't going to change how I feel about you." I offered him a warm smile as consolation. My knees were getting sore from leaning on them so I sat back on the bed, kicking up my legs and leaned back on my hands. "And besides, I've always had a weakness for Supervillains."

I heard the amused snort erupt from his nose and he turned his head in my direction. "You may look sweet and innocent on the outside but you and I both know you're just as wicked as I am."

I forged a fake evil cackle. "Ah, you've discovered my secret, evil plot to overthrow the Team Rocket Empire!" I jabbed Giovanni in the back with the tip of my toe. "Now, I will have to destroy you. Hah-ha-ha!"

The low -toned growl erupted from the back of his throat as he spun and promptly threw himself on top of me, his grin hungry and menacing. I squealed with laughter, struggling vainly at his attempts to grab me by the wrists and pin me to the bed.

"You and what army?" He said.

"Ten thousand Squirtles with rocket launchers."

Giovanni had to smirk. "And after you overthrow me, what will be your first call of duty?"

"I'll change the uniforms and make everyone wear rainbow colours and perhaps change the R to a D. Then me and my army of supercharged Squirtles will take on the governments and usher in a new era, bringing peace, happiness and freshly baked cookies to the world." My leer was twisted and evil. "So surrender now or prepare to fight."

Giovanni burst into laughter. "How will you fight me? I've already got you on your back."

"Ah, that's what you think." I grinned. "But really, you're just a player in my evil master plan."

"And is there room in your 'evil master plan' to stop me from having my way with you here and now?"

"….no," I stopped, suddenly stumped.

"I thought so," he gave me a victorious grin before making a point of kissing me on the throat, a power move that ensured I still knew who of us was really in charge. Then pulling off me, he tumbled backwards onto his pillow. "It's too bad I'm still exhausted from before."

"Giovanni?"

"Mm?

"Tell me about your family."

He stopped for a moment, taking in a deep breath and then exhaling through his lips. "My mother and I never saw eye to eye," he said slowly. "She was a foolish, impetuous woman who held no thought or regard for anyone else but herself."

"Surely she can't have been that bad," I said.

Giovanni merely smirked. "Those were her good qualities. But then again, I suppose I was never exactly a model son either…"