Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or places, only the idea for this fanfic.

Author's Notes: Incase you've read this under a different name, I didn't steal or plagiarize it. When I wrote this fic it was originally uploaded under a joint account, but now I've decided to put it up under my name instead.

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Stolen Heart

By Silent Melancholia

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No ribbon has been untied

From all that I hold inside

And only you will posses

The heart of innocence

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In my lifetime of crime within Team Rocket I have stolen many expensive and sometimes irreplaceable things. I have taken money, riches, and food from people much more deserving and needing of it. I have not only kidnapped pokemon, but have robbed their owners of the treasured companions they were and of the love that they gave and received. I have stolen important artifacts and additional priceless items that had been cherished and mourned over. I have even taken away people's dreams, hopes, and memories, never to return them. All this and more I have embezzled at just a simple command, a snap of the fingers. And as long as my life is pledged to working in our underground criminal organization, I will continue to do so.

I never felt regret, shame, or pity when stealing any of this because I used to believe that my own survival was more important than the feelings and lives of others. My beliefs were changed briefly, however, when a young man came into my life and unintentionally showed me how to feel things I never knew I was able to feel. This young man opened up my eyes, my heart, and if I were sure I still had a soul, I'd say he opened that too. And though it was one that could never work out in our world, he taught me how to love.

His name was Ash.

We were quite different, he and I. Ash was outgoing, cheerful, impulsive, and sometimes ignorant while I was reserved, somber, calculating, and very intelligent. He needed to grow up while I was quite mature. He was fiercely loyal while I stabbed anyone I didn't trust in the back without a second thought. He was incredibly kind while I was relentlessly cruel. He had a loving family and a stable home where he was always welcome while I had never even been able to imagine what either of those felt like. Everyone liked and admired him while I was a loner, cared about by only one person. He had lived a wonderful and accomplished life, helping others almost every day while I was poor and made my living by committing crimes. He became a top trainer of pokemon while I became one of the top criminal leaders of the notorious Team Rocket. While his name was well known and respected, mine was well known and feared.

At the same time we were also alike. We both held a lot of strength -- though sometimes in contrasting ways -- and the same endurance and ability. We were both driven for what we wanted, and never gave up until we achieved it. We could both be stubborn, determined, bold, and daring. We fought for what we believed in. And although we were on opposite sides of the law, we were equal in greatness.

I'll never understand how it got as far as to what developed between us. I guess you could say we were enemies right from the start. I had heard of him before, the do-gooder boy with the very powerful Pikachu. Every time there was a crime averted, a pokemon saved, or a good deed done, it wasn't almost guaranteed to have him involved. I didn't like him. I didn't know him, hadn't met him, but I didn't like him. In fact I loathed him, as did my partner, Cassidy. He was always foiling Team Rocket's plans, though that wasn't very hard considering he had only encountered Jesse and James with their stupid schemes that always failed.

Funny how foiling our plans was just what he did the first time I came face to face with him and his friends. He wrecked our plans. Our plans. I couldn't believe it. Cassidy and I had never failed before, no matter who or what we were dealing with. We were one of the top ranks of our entire network, yet somehow this little boy whom couldn't have been any older than twelve came along and easily put a stop to our entire scheme. It had been a breeding centre scam, an idea of mine that we had plotted out and perfected for weeks. Cassidy and I had been able to out-race and out-think the cops for all of our lives, yet this boy had us taken to jail for the first time.

He impressed me that day.

Every once and awhile we'd cross paths with each other again. Each time we would be in the middle of some kind of devious plot, and each time he would defeat us. Whether it was because of skill, luck, help of his friends, or a little bit of all of those, he always managed to come out on top. In addition to that he always risked his life for the people he cared about, not even stopping to think about his own safety. As furious and baffled as I was, he slowly earned my respect, and maybe even a bit of awe. Believe me, that is a hard thing to do.

Five years later, while doing an assignment in his hometown of Pallet, he didn't show up. I knew he was here, Ash had stated in a news interview on TV I had made sure to watch that he was returning home for a few months. I was surprised at how disappointed I felt at his absence. I hadn't realized before how much I looked forward to running into him and engaging in our usual battle of wits and strength. For some strange reason I felt angry with him for not coming to thwart our plans. It was his job, damn it. I felt so angry in fact, that later that night I crept off into the dark and went to pay a visit to his cozy little home.

I don't know what I planned to go there and do exactly, but it certainly wasn't what I ended up doing. I arrived at the house and easily entered through the unlocked back door. I was greeted with silence. Most of the lights were turned off, though I could see a faint glow coming from somewhere upstairs. Almost certain that no one was home, I made my way silently up the staircase. Immediately I was drawn to the room that I knew must be his. I was curious to see what was inside, to see the kinds of things he kept in there. The door was slightly ajar. Looking through the crack, I confirmed he was not there, and pushed open the door the rest of the way.

Pokemon. His entire bedroom was covered with pokemon merchandise he hadn't had the heart to get rid of. It made me want to smile. How typical of him. After my momentary amusement, I moved forward to examine some objects lying on his dresser. Perhaps there was something worth stealing.

"What the hell are you doing here, Rocket?"

I should have been startled, but I wasn't. Instead I turned calmly and faced the voice behind me, already knowing whom the boyish clamor belonged to. He stood in his bedroom doorway, watching me with cautious eyes. His arms were crossed, but he didn't look angry. Actually, it almost looked as if he was challenging me. I accepted.

"If it isn't little Ashy boy," I drawled. "Surprised to see you here."

He didn't move. "This is my house."

"So it is. Well you see, since you didn't stop our other robbery earlier, I figured you wouldn't bother to try and stop this one either."

He frowned at the mention of a crime that went unpunished. "I wouldn't, but I think it'd be a little hard to sleep with you robbing my house. So unless you keep it down a little, I'm going to have to stop this one."

My lips curved into a sneer at that. He'd gotten cockier over the years, if not smarter. "I intend to make as much noise as I please."

He walked into the room until he was standing in front of me. I admired his courage. Others would have run away. "Why are you here? There couldn't possibly be something here that Team Rocket wants, besides my pokemon."

"I just thought I'd pay you a visit."

He gives me a half smile, one I find unbelievably attractive. "Is it a fight you're looking for?"

"You owe one to me."

He looked at me strangely for a minute, then unexpectedly began to laugh. "I get it now."

I glared at him. "Get what?"

"Why you're here. You're mad at me for not coming to kick your sorry butt."

That had basically been the reason, but I hadn't realized how stupid it sounded until he said it aloud. "No, but it would have been me kicking your ass anyway."

"If Pikachu were here, you'd already be on the floor."

I gave a throaty laugh. "I don't want pokemon." I moved closer, "I only want you."

My tone of voice made him shift almost uncomfortably, but he kept his ground, his eyes still level with mine. "…I don't understand."

"Either do I," I murmured, then stepped forward, leaving very little space between us. I don't know what I was thinking. I was never one to act on impulse, I preferred to plan everything out and be precise. But at that moment my rational thinking flew out the window as I grabbed him and kissed him roughly.

His body jolted in shock and confusion, I could feel his first instinct was to pull away. I persisted however, and soon he was hesitantly kissing back, his soft lips tugging at mine. Though obviously not all that experienced, his shy kiss was stirring feelings within me.

I could feel his pleasure then, and his response became more passionate when I demanded more of him and deepened the kiss. I ran my fingers through his unruly ebony hair, something I had wanted to do for years. To answer this, his hands awkwardly began to move along my body. I took a hold of them and carefully guided them downward, intending to show him what he could do, what I wanted.

We had unknowingly been moving backwards, and the two of us ran into his bed, falling unto it. It was at that moment, when we landed together on his pokemon covered blanket and his eyes widened with more fear than desire that I realized what I had been doing. I immediately pulled away, trying to catch my breath and my senses.

This was wrong of me, not to mention illegal.

He looks as if he's trying to get his head back on clearly as well. After a moment, he raises his face to me with a hurt expression showing that made me want to take him back in my arms. I hastily stopped myself. I needed to be rational. I was twenty-five years old. Sleeping with some random guy was one thing, but seducing a teenage boy I had unexpected feelings for was another.

I had seen in his eyes that he wasn't ready.

"Butch?" His wavering voice reminds me of have sweet he is, how young. It stings me to hear it.

"What?"

"I… I don't know how I feel about you."

He doesn't know. It hurts even more to hear that, to know that for once he had managed to steal something -- my heart -- and I had not been able to steal his in complete return.

"Forget about what just happened," I snap harshly, turning away from him and standing up, knowing that I will never be able to.

"Why are you doing this?" He whispers sadly, questioning me with those warm brown eyes filled with confused tears I am glad I can not see.

I keep my tone unemotional, abrupt. It's easier that way. "It was a mistake. This is for the best. Goodbye Ash."

He says nothing as I walk out of his room without another glance back. As soon as I reach the safety of the hallway I can't stop myself from running. Running away from him, from his house, from the painful knots turning over in my chest and the now emptiness of my heart. I can still taste him and it brings a tear to my eye that I furiously wipe away.

How had this happened? How and when had I begun to feel affection for him?

I cursed myself, cursed the starless sky above me. Life was never fair. Why did I have to fall for someone I knew I could never have? Why did the timing have to be so wrong?

As hard as it had been, however, I knew it had been the right choice. I had had no right to take away what Ash deserved to share with the right person. I was not that person. Not now, not here.

Like I said once before, I have stolen many things without remorse from good people that once held it dear to them. And as long as my life is pledged to working for Team Rocket, I will continue to do so. But I realize now that there is one thing, more valuable than anything in this world, which not even I can bear to steal.

And that is his innocence.

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