(I just got this really weird desire to rewrite the very first fic I ever attempted back in 2011, but never posted. Been out of the Pokémon fandom for such a long time, but I just remember these 2 being some of my favorite characters from the anime and then trying to write a story about them, which ended up becoming the first fic writing I ever did. So, like 10 years later I decided to revisit that hot mess.)
The room is still dark as Brandon stirs from sleep, save for a tiny sliver of light cutting through the blackness of the room from underneath the bedroom door. He blinks the sleep from his eyes and checks the clock, wincing as it reads 4 AM in neon green on the digital display. Though he was naturally an early riser, this is pushing it.
He hears faint noises and creaks in the floorboards and realizes she must be awake already. With a sigh Brandon drags himself from the bed, his feet brushing against the cold hardwood floors of the cabin. The very short warm season in Snowpoint was upon them, the thawed mountainside green and blooming. However, even in this season the warmth of the cabin couldn't completely ward off the plummeting temperatures of the night.
Brandon yawns and shuffles his way towards the kitchen, intent on fixing himself a steaming cup of coffee if he was going to be awake at this hour. He finds his companion is already awake and dressed, having fixed herself some toast and tea by the looks of it.
"There's still some hot water in the kettle." She tells him as he ambles in, not looking up from where she was intently studying a map on her handheld monitor. " I should be back in time for breakfast."
"I really think you should slow down." Brandon shakes his head at the woman who he had the adventure of calling his spouse, for lack of a better term to describe the indescribable. Formal or traditional wasn't really her style, much as it was his.
It's somehow only been 3 years since they'd met- and yet so much had happened since then.
He remembers the day they'd first met. He remembers how her recklessness unleashed a sacred sleeping giant; such was her disregard for life, Pokémon or human at that time. The day she'd frozen him inside a stony prison, and he'd learned he had a higher purpose in this world as a protector of the sacred and rare places of the world, places that people like her would seek to destroy. She'd unknowingly set off a chain of events that would lead to them meeting again. Due to the events that transpired at Snowpoint Temple, Brandon had become heavily involved in the reconstruction of it. He'd formally taken a hiatus from the Battle Pyramid, deciding to dedicate the time to training his team in solitude and rebuilding the temple.
He'd been traveling to the town of Lake Valor on some errand for the temple on a clear day when he'd heard there was some sort of calamity happening out by the lake from a pair of sightseers he'd run into on the road. However, by the time he'd reached the lake it was all over, save for one motionless figure washed up by the shore. That day, the day the world almost ended, Brandon found his former adversary by the lake, soaked and nearly drowned- spared by the merciless waters of the lake for reasons he couldn't possibly fathom. He'd made quick work of contacting the police once he ascertained that she was indeed alive, however, fate had different plans for him that day.
A sudden storm swept in, delaying the police. As he sat staring at her, watching her motionless body as the rain poured down on her, it was then that suddenly knew why she was spared. A strange vision danced in his head, as if planted there. She was spared by unknown forces, the same ones communicating with him now- this woman would make it right. He could see that clear as anything, the vision in his mind was so vivid if it wasn't for the rain he could've mistaken it for a second reality. She was being given a second chance, because she was probably the only one who could. Against all reason, Brandon took her back with him, journeying all the way back to Snowpoint in secret. He'd been living in an isolated cabin homestead not far from the Snowpoint Temple, thus making this task easier.
He was the first face Hunter J had seen when she awoke. She initially tried to fight him, she tried to use her Pokémon against him, but no avail. Her Pokémon refused to obey and come out of their Poké Balls and fight, either because of her weakened state or perhaps they knew something she didn't. Whatever the reasons for it, she'd had no choice but to remain at his mercy and regain her strength, her Pokémon would not help her escape.
"I don't want your pity." She'd told him in a voice colder than the ice that surrounded the cabin windows. She refused the food he'd brought to her on the futon he'd set up in the attic space.
"You don't have my pity. You have my faith that you can do better in this world, that's the only reason you're here now." Brandon set the wooden tray down next to her. "But it's not just me. There are other forces at play here, there was a reason you were spared."
"You're a fool." The woman turned away from him, but it hardly mattered to Brandon. He never expected this would be easy, but it needed to be done for the greater good.
The mysterious woman was prickly and cantankerous, but he expected as much from her. Her hard shell had been cracked open- exposing the most vulnerable parts of herself. He could see that she couldn't stand it, to her it was a fate worse than death. She promised many times that she would escape, threatened that she would exact her vengeance on that accursed lake by draining it dry and blowing it to pieces, destroying all the Pokémon the that called it home. But Brandon just weathered it all as she recovered. In the end, he told her that the choice was hers, but they both knew why she had been spared.
She knew her task, Brandon could begin to see a change in her. He could see how she'd begun to practice riding Salamence around the snowy field just outside of the cabin, attempting to regain confidence in herself and command the unwavering obedience of her Pokémon again.
"I need to use your digital navigational charts." She'd told him one day, her voice hard as stone and her resolve set. He knew what she was going to do.
The first one was the hardest. She'd lost confidence and her way in the world. It was hard to entirely break down a person, crumble the world they'd built for themselves and leave them to find their way again. The former Hunter goes in reverse order, starting with the first Pokémon on record that she ever stole for a client. She begins to return what she'd taken. He doesn't know how she does it, but he imagines she does it unseen by either party- leaving the other trainer to wonder how the Pokémon simply found their way back after years of separation.
Once she comes back during a heavy blizzard, surprising Brandon as she walked back into his cabin. She'd been gone for over a week and he'd assumed he'd seen the last of her.
"Target wasn't there." She'd told him, voice hard as stone.
"Maybe they've been resold. I wouldn't be surprised." He shrugs as he continues mixing herbs as per the ancient Poké medicinal recipe he'd discovered many years ago.
"No. I tracked them to an unmarked grave in a backlot." Her tone is completely catatonic as she briskly strides past him.
"I see." Is all he can muster.
She retreats to the shed out back and he doesn't see her for 3 days afterwards, but he thinks he knows where she goes. It's less of a physical place and more of a state of mind, he's been there before.
The rest were successful, one by one, little by little, she made her way down the list. It took over a year, and most of her time was spent on the road or preparing herself. Her vigilante actions never really made headlines past local municipalities and towns. Most of her former clients didn't report the thefts to police for fear of attracting attention to themselves and their seedy transactions.
Each time former hunter took to the skies with her Salamence, Brandon could never be sure if it would be the last he would see of her. But, she would always return… eventually. He found himself growing closer to the woman he'd taken in that day by the lake, her becoming more human and less of an enigmatic entity as time passed. He sees her habits and quirks brought to light, little by little. But her interactions with him remain strained and difficult. Her people skills had been narrowed to the fine points of handling subordinates and negotiating clients. She navigated every interaction like a battle, knowing the other party was always looking for any sign of weakness in her, looking to press in and take all they can from her. She'd honed it down to an art, breaking men down and rebuilding them into the very picture of biddable and loyal. She's not used to interacting with people as equals, with nothing to be won, lost, or negotiated.
It's almost a year before he learns she has a name but no family to attach it to. That Jayce had once been a young girl who later became Jay before she became Hunter J. That as a youngster Jayce had fought for everything she had. She'd spent her youth much as a Bagon would- desperate and starving for a better life. Knowing she was destined for more in this world than bare feet on dirt floors and hunger pangs. Then, just as a Salamence only evolves to grows wings out of a frustrating desire to fly coded deep in its genes, she'd only grown to be feared and respected out of her own trials and tribulations. But as she slowly revealed the tangled threads of her past, she never intended to be sentimental, she didn't permit such things. She recites every memory in the same stony and callous tone she uses for everything else. Nonetheless, Brandon was left to wonder at the person she could've been in a world that allowed her to grow up kinder, become softer, to share and understand the feelings of others in her youth.
He thinks he might finally be getting closer to meeting that person, every day that Jayce returns after successfully returning a life that Hunter J had stolen.
Then one day, she is finished. The former log of transactions that she'd turned into a checklist is all crossed out, but the steely look of constant determination in her eyes never dies down even as her task is completed. Brandon doesn't how they move forward or what she will do next. However, Brandon finds that Jayce already has plans, rebranding herself to disrupt black market trades; to hunt the hunters and steal their prize right out from under them just when they thought they've tasted victory. He can't go with her of course, he has his obligations to training his team and fulfilling his promise of restoring the temple.
The day that she plans to leave to disrupt a bounty raid on a Pokémon Center, he is sure this will be it. That this will be the start of her new journey, where she takes to the skies on Salamence and leaves everything else behind. He searches for words to wish her the best but before he can find them he finds that she has plans for his future too.
"I'm going to use this as a home base once in a while, any objections?"
Brandon knows what she's really asking him. What she really wants, but there's not a word that exists in her world for it yet.
"Well," he thinks. " just don't let any angry bounty hunters follow you back here. That could get kind of messy."
She grins and arches a fierce brow at him. "Not going to be an issue."
"Good." He nods.
It's not long after that things become less of a sharing of space and more of a building of home. The first one she's ever dared have after so many years constantly on the run, so she tells him over coffee one day. Somehow along the way, they had each become attached to the other, deciding that existing in the world as partners was better than entirely independent. At his age, Brandon was more than familiar with the feeling, but Jayce seemed decidedly unfamiliar with genuine affection. Reluctant and guarded, Jayce eventually began to open her heart to him. Goodness knows she'd had his longer than he'd dared admit.
The memory fades back into reality and Brandon watches his current cup of coffee swirl as he idly stirs it. Things had progressed from those days, and now they were about to grow into a family, any day now.
"Can't take it easy today," Jayce's steely voice interrupts his thoughts as he looks up at her. "not on this one. It's too important, I got word they're going to strike 4 different places in the area before meeting at a rendezvous point. I need to make sure I know where that is."
"Yes, but-"
"No action, I just need to make sure the information is correct when I call it in." She's already reaching for the door faster than he can stop her, despite the recent shifts to her center of balance. "Salamence will look after me."
"Wait-" Brandon rushes to follow her outside, but he only gets there just as Salamence leaps into the air. With a heavy sigh vaporizing into the cool morning air, Brandon goes back inside, intent on fixing himself another cup of coffee seeing as this is going to be another long morning of waiting for her to return. In her current state, he couldn't help but stay up to worry and wait for her to come back.
He's only just returned to the table before he sees the dark liquid in his cup faintly ripple as the windows shudder against an unnaturally strong breeze. He doesn't need to look outside to know Salamence has returned. Brandon rushes outside, knowing immediately that something must be amiss.
"On second thought," Jayce relents as she dismounts, still a vision of grace and agility, even now. Its only after spending so much time with her that he can tell when she's in pain. "maybe I'll take a day after all."
She doubles over with a grimace as the pain nearly takes her to her knees. Brandon makes to support her, but she waves him off in typical fashion as she straightens herself.
Salamence growls out a whine, giving her a nudge and worrying look. "It's okay Salamence, I'll be alright." Jayce gives it a few pats as reassurance.
"Don't you dare say it." Jayce's voice is vicious, but she hides a soft smile underneath her harsh tone. However, Brandon has no mind to say he told her so, as he is only focused on the task at hand without an ounce of humor to spare.
"Let's get you back inside, I'll call the doctor." He's all business as he shuffles them back inside, leaving Salamence to pace the grassy fields in the faint pink light that signals the coming of dawn.
It's only 3 hours later that they have a daughter.
Brandon holds the sleeping newborn wrapped in a neat little bundle, excitedly pacing the floors while Jayce rests in their bedroom. The birth had been a relatively quick but thoroughly exhausting experience nonetheless. Brandon looks up to see Salamence staring through the window, looking somewhat forlorn.
Jayce had a unique partnership with her Salamence, she would only demand that it stay in its ball when necessary for travel and missions. It was happiest spending most of its time by its master's side, or on the mountainside and skies surrounding the cabin on the days it wasn't being used. Salamence was a 'one trainer only' kind of Pokémon, unquestionably obedient and loyal, so long as the trainer was strong enough to command control of it. It had begun acting somewhat more stubborn and cautious on missions once it knew Jayce was expecting, going so far as refusing to fly into particularly dangerous situations much to Jayce's extreme vexation. Brandon had a healthy respect for the Pokémon and usually gave it space, and in turn Salamence was largely disinterested in him a majority of the time.
But now, Brandon knew exactly what he needed to do for Salamence. He holds his bundled infant daughter in one arm as he opens the sliding door to the field. Upon seeing them Salamence immediately launches itself to the far end of the yard, looking somewhat sheepish and upset at being caught in an sensitive state.
"Jayce's fine, she's resting." Brandon calls out to it and it growls softly at him as he gestures towards it. "C'mon over Salamence, it's okay."
It slowly tromps its way across the sunlight warmed field of grass and flowers towards them. "That's it, come on over." As it stops at his feet, Brandon shifts the blankets and presents the baby to it. "I knew you'd want to meet her."
Salamence cranes its mighty neck down to the tiny bundle in his arms and gives it a harsh inhale, causing the newborn to stir with a slight whimper. "Gentle with her, now. She's a little fragile."
Salamence finishes investigating, apparently satisfied with taking in the baby's scent. It growls pointedly at Brandon, apparently trying to tell him something. He can't quite make heads or tails of it until the Pokémon walks over to its proud accomplishment on the lawn. A giant pile of sticks, branches, leaves and rocks litter the ground on the side of the house, slapdashedly arranged to resemble some sort of a nest. Apparently worried that their current lodgings may be insufficient for their offspring, Salamence has fashioned an impressive nest for the baby.
Flabbergasted, Brandon takes a step back to take it all in. The pile stands almost as tall as the house itself.
"Well now, there's a sight." Jayce's sudden amused voice from behind almost makes him jump. He hadn't expected to see her out of bed so quickly, but then again this was Jayce after all. She looked a little tired, but otherwise remarkably ambulant.
"We'll have to find some way to use it, otherwise it'll get offended." She shakes her head with a faint smile. "You know dragon types." At that Brandon can't help but laugh, and was joined by Jayce. Her genuine laughter was a rare sound, and he cherished it. For a woman who had previously lived her life entirely by the price at which she could turn a profit, he supposed she had finally learned the true meaning of invaluable.
Although he couldn't say what the future would hold, if one thing was certain it was that Salamence was already ready to protect this new member of the family with its life, and Brandon was sure it would be no time at all before their daughter would be taking her first adventure into the wild wonderful world of Pokémon.