A/N: Hey y'all! Sorry it took me so long to update this. I wrote the second chapter a while ago but I had to split it up and change some things because it was way too long and didn't flow well. I also got diagnosed with Carpel Tunnel around the time I wrote that chapter and picked up a new job so with all of that I had kind of forgotten about this project. I'd like to thank my friend TRsilvers for helping me with some grammar things I missed and giving me awesome suggestions! I couldn't have this chapter ready without her :)
Butch didn't really expect to see Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbufett as customers for the bakery he worked at. But here they were, happily eating the bread he made. Jessie still wore her Team Rocket uniform but James was nowhere in sight. Butch thought about pressing the issue but first, he thought he should admit that he was no longer a member of Team Rocket.
"You know I-"
"Yeah, we know." Jessie gave a muffled response. She was still chewing her bread as she continued speaking, much to Butch's disdain. "You got fed up with missions, lectures and apologies so you quit Team Rocket."
Butch was left speechless for a moment as Jessie hit the nail on the head.
"That was supposed to be a big reveal! Let me say it myself!"
"Cassidy told us everything," Meowth retorted dismissively.
"Huh? You saw her?" He was a bit surprised, he worried if Jessie and Cassidy had met up again they would have torn each other to shreds. But Jessie was just fine and when hearing Cassidy's name she didn't flare up in anger. He wondered what had happened when they met. Did Cassidy finally get enough peace of mind to not be so bothered by Jessie? Later that day while Meowth, Jessie and Wobbufett helped around the bakery, they filled him in on what he missed. They stopped by at the Flowerfield Cafe that Cassidy currently ran. It was the same cafe Butch's stepfather sent him to, it feels like an eternity had passed since then…
"He said this would be a short walk," Cassidy complained. While the woman was fit Butch realized over the years that she didn't like to exert more energy than she needed to. It was as if everything in life came easy to her. Butch however didn't complain too much, he had to do stuff like this often as soon as he turned 15, and even before he joined Team Rocket. "No sense in complaining boy!" He could hear his father's voice in his ear like the pestering buzz of a Beedrill. As soon as his legs also began to tremble from all the walking he began to see a small village in the distance. It had a bunch of cabins around, this must be the place Richard had told them about, but where was the cafe? Walking into the town there wasn't much. A few houses, a small shop, and a makeshift pokemon center. Towards the edge of the village, the pair found a building with a yellow flower on the door. This must be the Flowerfield Cafe.
Cassidy noticed this too and she sprinted up to the door and opened it. A bell sounded as she entered and Butch quickly followed her.
"Pardon the intrusion!" Butch called out to the empty place.
"Oh it's alright, I left the door open since I knew you young folk was coming," A short old woman turned the corner, she wore a green apron with a yellow flower embroidered on the front. Her hair was pale pink with many white streaks and she had it tied back in a tight bun. She gave the pair a friendly smile. "My name is Winter, I am the owner of the Flowerfield Cafe."
"I'm Butch and this is Cassidy, we will be helping you out for a bit," Butch introduced themselves. Cassidy just looked around the room, sizing up the place. It wasn't too bad. There was a fireplace and couches, as well as some tables and counters to sit at. The kitchen was in the entryway so you could see the food being made. The main issue is that everything seemed so dusty.
"Where are the customers?" Cassidy asked as she turned her attention back to Winter.
"Cass-"
"This place hasn't opened yet. I used to run it with my husband but I've left it closed for a year since his death, I thought I'd reopen it but needed some help getting the place back in shape," Winter explained. "Let me show you around and then we can get started on our deep clean."
Just as she said she would, Winter showed them around. First she took them upstairs to where there were two bedrooms and a bathroom. The guest bedroom only had one bedroom which Butch asked about.
"I didn't think you two would mind since you were a couple, at least that's what Richard said…" Winter said, trailing off a bit at the end when she saw the shocked reactions Butch and Cassidy had.
"He must have gotten the wrong idea," Butch mumbled to himself.
"We've slept in worse places, thank you for the room," Cassidy said. Finally she showed some hospitality to the woman so Butch decided not to complain anymore.
Downstairs there was a storeroom and another bathroom for guests. Then she led them outside to the back porch.
"You kids are lucky to have gotten in before the fog came in. This town is known for it's foggy weather, but if you ever need to see then you can get help from Staravia," Winter said as she pointed in the direction of a tree behind the cafe. A flying type pokemon Butch and Cassidy had never seen before was relaxing on the branch. Winter whistled and the pokemon came over to perch on the porch in front of his trainer.
"Is this your pokemon?" Butch asked looking at its grey wings and intense stare.
"Why isn't it in a pokeball?" Cassidy added.
"My Staravia here prefers to roam around the town, I know she'll always come back if I call for her and I even send her to get packages for me. Do you two have Pokemon? They could always be a help for us here at the cafe," Winter said with a warm smile.
"I only have Raticate and Granbull this trip," Cassidy said as she put her hand to her chin. He knew she was thinking that they couldn't retrieve any of their other pokemon at HQ because of their current status. Butch wished he had any other pokemon besides Shuckle.
"Granbull and Raticate are strong so they could definitely help us out," Winter reassured Cassidy.
"Alright, I'll let them out. Go Raticate! Go Granbull!" Cassidy released her pokemon out into the yard. They both came out looking ready to battle, but were suddenly confused by there unusual surroundings.
"You two, it's time to do some heavy lifting," Cassidy said as she began to head towards the storeroom.
"My pokemon isn't really great at lifting things," Butch said.
"That's fine, why don't you start to clean the tables and chairs? They could use a good dusting," Winter said as she handed butch a feather duster. He got to work dusting the whole room. Winter commented that it was nice to have two people so tall around since her husband wasn't much taller than her. Butch then cleaned windows, swept the floors, and cut some wood out back for the fireplace. He cut the logs to be the perfect size for the fireplace and brought them inside. Winter asked him to light a fire since as the sun began to set the temperature outside got lower. Butch put the logs in and started a fire with a lighter. He had little extra pieces of wood he had cut from the logs that he wasn't sure to do with. He considered throwing them in the fire anyway but Cassidy came over to stop him.
"Give me that," Cassidy said as she swiped the small piece of wood from her partner and sat on the couch. She pulled a pocket knife out of her apron. Butch knew she kept it on her at all times. She said it was for protection but he never understood that when she had a pokemon whose teeth were probably ten times sharper than that knife. Cassidy then began to whittle away at the wood with the knife. She soon had a clunky little wood heart in her hands.
"Woah, where did you learn to do that?" Butch asked.
"My dad taught me," Cassidy said without looking up. She just looked amazed that she had made something with her own two hands. "I can't remember the last time I did this…"
"If you wanna make more wood figures may I suggest something?" Winter came over to her new employees and sat with them.
"Raticate's got strong teeth so he might be able to help you whittle the wood down just right," Winter explained as she gestured over to Raticate, the pokemon tilted it's head to the side, having missed the reason why Winter was pointing at him.
"I never thought of that before. Now that I think about it I think this is the first time I've made one of these since I got Raticate," Cassidy said as she grabbed one of the newly cut logs.
"Here I want you to chew out a circle and some ears," Cassidy said as she held up the log for Raticate. The pokemon seemed a bit confused but when Cassidy showed him the heart she made him understand the task. Raticate chewed around, it was a little rough but Cassidy picked up her knife to smooth some edges and add details.
"I made a Pikachu head!" Cassidy proudly held it up to show the two. Winter complicated her while Butch just cringed.
"I think Pikachu is one of the last pokemon I want to think about," he said with a sigh. Cassidy just giggled in return.
"Better than Hippopotas."
The next few days Winter spent her time teaching Butch and Cassidy how to cook. Well it was mainly just Cassidy. Anything Butch put on the stove set on fire and anything in the oven became burnt.
"Hmmm I have an idea, come with me," Winter led Butch towards the fireplace and set it up.
"You did a good job kneading that bread, so maybe using the fireplace like an oven would help you," Winter explained as she handed him the dough.
"That actually sounds like a surefire way for your house to burn down," Butch commented with a flat expression. Winter just smiled and patted his back.
"I doubt that will happen. Sometimes to learn something new you just need to try a different approach," Winter reassured him as she returned to the kitchen with Cassidy. Just like Winter had said, baking bread in the oven worked out for him and it tasted pretty good.
"I'm impressed, I'd thought you'd burn the cabin down," Cassidy comments as she sat across from Butch and happily shoved the bread in her mouth.
"I wish I could do more to help, Cassidy practically organized the storage room all by herself and she can do most of the cooking, what am I lacking?" Butch lamented as he slumped into his chair.
"Don't put yourself down, Cassidy also had the help of her Pokemon. What Pokemon do you have?" Winter asked.
"Just Shuckle…" Butch said. Winter perked up hearing this.
"Oh my you don't meet many people with Shuckle nowadays. I should take you to the doctor. Shuckle juice can be used as medicine ya know."
"I had heard that but never figured out how," Butch said, a defeted look still on his face.
"Let's go visit him now, and you can advertise the new opening of the cafe," Winter said as she pulled Butch up to his feet. She'd probably have dragged the man to the door if he didn't start moving on his own, but Butch felt obligated to follow her.
They spoke with the doctor about Shuckle and they made an arrangement to leave Shuckle with the doctor every few days and he would turn Shuckles juices into medicine. After that Winter passed out flyers with the cafe's opening date while Butch hung up posters that also advertised the new opening. The next day the cafe opened.
Almost everyone in town showed up and greeted Cassidy and Butch warmly. Cassidy remained on the cooking side of things since her temperament wasn't the best for dealing with customers. That was left to Butch and he handled it like a pro. He only took breaks from serving to make some more bread. The customers found it interesting to watch how Butch made it and his delicious bread became very popular amongst the customers.
Everyday after work Cassidy would sit by the fireplace with Raticate and carve something new. She would make different pokemon and shapes and litter them around the cafe and in their shared room. Winter liked the decoration but Butch didn't really understand Cassidy's sudden fasication with the carvings. She had never seemed like the crafty type to Butch but here she was making Persians and Drowsee's and all sorts of other things. Butch didn't take up a hobby. He would usually go out onto the patio after dinner for a smoke break and look up at the stars. He was always fascinated with how many stars you could see the further away from big cities you get. One night while smoking and star-gazing the nighttime silence was broken with a cry.
"Meow~"
"Huh?" But peered out into the darkness, eventually his eyes prayed on a small little Meowth. Even in the dark and fog he could tell the thing was only skin and bones. When the Meowth noticed Butch she came over to the patio. She was dirty and skinny and she looked sad.
"Meow~"
"You want some food? Hold on, I'll get you some…" Butch soon returned with some leftovers and the little cat pokemon happily gobbled it down. Butch just watched, unknowingly a smile had come to his face. Every night after that the Mewoth returned and Butch secretly fed it.
About a month passed in that place without Cassidy and Butch having realized it. Those who say time flies by when your having fun weren't kidding, this is probably the best Butch felt in years. He wondered if Cassidy felt the same. One day they had to go to the city to replace some worn out cooking supplies. On the way back they were both startled by the sound of Cassidy's phone ringing. They had forgotten all about their arrangement with Namba to lay low. Cassidy's eyes were like saucers as she looked at Butch, she seemed at a loss for what to do.
"Answer it," Butch chocked out. It was like a pained whisper. He didn't want to go back, but what choice did he have?
"Hello?"
"I have been trying to reach you two numbskulls forever! Where the hell have you been?" Professor Namba asked, his anger could be felt through the phone, and they hadn't even called him the wrong name yet.
"Where we were staying had a bad connection," Cassidy said dismissively, trying not to let her anxiety seep through her voice.
"I told you to lay low, not go off the grid," Namba let out a frustrated sigh. "Let me know where you are, I'll set up arrangements for you to return to Kanto for your new assignments."
"...No."
Silence.
"What?" Namba broke the silence with a stutter gasp of utter disbelief. He sorta sounded like a car breaking down.
"I said no, we are not coming back. Butch and I quit!" Cassidy doubled down.
"What do you mean you're not coming back? That's not your decision to make!" The phone was practically fuming from the rage in Nambas voice.
"Why not? What does it matter to you what we do? We're just the numbskulls who keep failing. It would be best if we all cut our losses now," Cassidy said nonchalantly with a smug smirk on her face. Butch was left to gawk at her in silent bewilderment.
"You can't just up and leave! Giovanni needs you! You know too much-" Click.
It was Cassidy's turn to hang up on Namba.
But of course the phone began to ring again almost as soon as she hung up. Cassidy just ignored it and turned down a nearby alleyway. Puzzled Butch began to follow her.
"Cassidy! Cass! Where are you going? What do you mean we quit!? CASS!" He called after her but she seemed to have a one track mind as she found a dumpster.
She placed her phone on top of the dumpster and pulled out her pocket knife. Before Butch could question her more she began to violently stab the phone over and over again. Her breathing was heavy and angry and without her even realizing it a few tears had escaped from her eyes and streamed down her face as she destroyed the poor phone. Butch bet Wendy could feel a tingle run up her spine as her brothers companion destroyed company property.
"Cass…" Butch gently breathed out her name. He worried if he was too loud she would break in this fragile state. She however acted as if she wasn't a hot mess and just held her hand out to him. Little shards of glass were sticking to her fingers like glue and the hard plastic she sent flying everywhere had cut up the hand she held out to him. Blood dripped from it and onto the concrete below.
"Give me your phone too. We can't be tracked back to the cafe."
Butch pulled out his phone but instead of handing it to Cassidy he threw it on the ground and stomped on it.
"I don't want you to hurt yourself anymore," He said very calmly and quietly as he threw his crushed phone into the dumpster. Cassidy did the same before letting Butch lead her to the pokemon center.
Butch asked the nurse joy for some spare bandages, he returned to Cassidy in the lobby. She had been staring off into the distance in an almost eerie like trance. She had been like this since their phones had been destroyed. Butch knealt infront of his partner and began to remove the plastic and glass as gently as possible from her bloody palm. Holding her hand in his hand she all of a sudden felt really small. He had never seen Cassidy like this, not even once in all their years together. She always seemed so strong. But even Butch felt weak in this moment so he couldn't fault her for it. They were both human.
"We'll have to return Granbull and Shuckle because their pokeballs are tagged by Team Rockets systems. Raticate can stay with me because I caught him before I joined Team Rocket," Cassidy finally said to break the long silence. Butch lazily followed her gaze to see that this whole time she had been staring at a nearby PC box. Her face began to reveal a new mix of emotions. First she seemed relieved that she could keep the pokemon that had been by her side this whole time, her very first Pokemon, but Cassidy was also sad she wouldn't see her other pokemon again, she then showed a bit of regret that she hadn't treated them better in the short time she spent with them. Butch also felt a bit sad that he wouldn't see his Pokemon again, but it was more of a hassle to not have a Pokemon than a grievance of his. After Cassidy's wound was cleaned and bandaged the pair walked over to that damned PC who had been looming over them like an angel of death this whole time. Butch went up to it her first and returned Shuckle, Cassidy returned Granbull shortly after. They then made a quick haste out of the Pokemon Center and back to the cafe.
On their walk back Butch finally had the sense to ask some of the many questions that were on his mind. The first being "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"Everything! You quit for us! And that breakdown!?" Butch said as he stopped infront of the woman to keep her from trying to walk away from him. "I'm worried Cass."
"What's there to worry about? We got a good job far from other people. We haven't been caught or recognized yet," Cassidy said as she tried to play up that familiar air of casual coolness to her, but he could still hear her emotional turmoil leaking into her voice. Butch put his hand on her shoulder gently, he could even feel she was shaking a bit.
"But there is way more to worry about. We are putting Winter in danger, and it's hard to rely on her. Once she figures out we are criminals she could throw us out!"
"We WERE criminals. We are turning our lives around, she would admire us for it! And besides she needs us, that restaurant would fall apart without us," Cassidy reassured Butch, but was she talking more to her companion or herself in this situation? They both needed reassurance but neither were very good at giving it. So they continued their walk in silence. Winter noticed the shift in the two when they came back but she didn't say anything. Butch and Cassidy were stuck in this position now, wheather they liked it or not and they would make the best of it.
A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed and that this hasn't veered too out of character yet lol
Leave a review if you liked it or if you have any criticism, I'll be happy to hear any corrections as long as they are your own words :)
