Fated
Summary: Jessie finds herself in exile, forced into captivity with a mysterious stranger. With nowhere to go and seemingly no hope of escape, they share the stories behind their miserable fates. Hers is filled with questions. His is filled with answers.
Chapter 5: Rooftops and Invitations
The first time you looked
At her curves you were hooked
And the glances you took
Took hold of you
And demanded that you stay
The city longs well for
Rooftops and invitations
All lace and secret places
She moves you to touch
With her hands
And she just might get you lost
And she just might leave you torn
But she just might save your soul
If she gets you and she, gets you any closer
...Dashboard Confessional - Rooftops and Invitations
Jessie lay down on her makeshift bed by her wall and contemplated the things she had heard and the things she had revealed. Jack was preparing a small supper for the two of them, even though she had ate not too long ago. Then again, she had long since learnt never to turn down a meal. Jack was quite good in the kitchen, she noted as her mouth began to water. That wasn't all Jack was good at. She had to admit that he was a good doctor and that her bandaged foot was probably going to heal in no time. He was also a fairly decent carpenter. He told her that he made most of the furniture, including a bed, table, and a chair from trees he had found in his two mile radius.
Jessie could scarcely imagine how frustrating it was to have your whole world confined to just a couple miles, but then, her whole world was now confined to six feet from her wall. She groaned and forced herself to think of something else and her thoughts took her to the stories that they were telling.
She thought about Jack's story, of how he was born into a crime syndicate, yet forced to compete with his older brothers for his inheritance. For a moment, her thoughts lingered on Giovanni. It was hard to believe that he was once young, a father, yet even then he seemed to have all the makings of the cold, cruel man that she had come to hate. She wondered about his other brother, Joseph, and what happened to him and his family. Was he in exile in the same way that Jack was? And then she thought about the three women that Jack often brought up: Miyamoto, Catherine, and Daphne. Somehow, they were central to his story, particularly Miyamoto. Something about that name bothered Jessie, like she had heard it once before, but couldn't quite remember. Maybe she had heard it in passing. After all, if Miyamoto was one of Team Rocket's most valued agents then perhaps Jessie had heard it from other agents, but even that didn't seem right. There were, however, many other names she recognized. Ketchum was one, as was Delia, mother of the twerp. And the Morgans. With a pang, she thought of James.
Where Miyamoto was central to Jack's story, James was central to hers. She could hardly believe that she was revealing so much about herself, but there was something about Jack that she related to. They were both trapped, isolated. They had both been torn away from everything they held close to them. All they had were the stories that had brought them to this point, this ending.
"More soup, I'm afraid," Jack announced, breaking her out of her thoughts, "Gio isn't very creative when he's sending out supplies," he muttered, handing Jessie her dinner. She smirked.
"He never struck me as the creative type," she commented.
"He wasn't," Jack agreed, blowing on a spoonful of hot soup. He and Jessie ate in silence for a few minutes, before she looked up at him.
"So what happened next?" she asked, "I told you my part. Now its your turn."
To her surprise, he smiled, "I was thinking about that too, actually," he said, "and I remember we were talking about losing those we love."
"I think you're right about that," Jessie nodded.
"Well, this is how I loved…"
"I can't believe that little worm hasn't found out yet!" Giovanni fumed as he paced around the gym.
"Don't these things take time, Gio?" I asked lazily, lounging in a swivel chair. He glared at me.
"You should be more concerned with this. It affects you too!" he chided me. I smirked up at him, which only seemed to infuriate him more.
"Gio, as Joey kindly pointed out to us the other day, his kid won't be born for another six months. We can worry about it then," I told him, glancing at my watch. I got to my feet.
"Yes, let's worry about it later, when it will come around and bite us on the asses," he scoffed. I shook my head.
"What can we do now that we can't do in six months, Gio?" I asked, chuckling, "What's done is done. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date," I announced, preparing to take my leave.
"But our inheritance-"
"Gio, has anyone ever told you that you may have over-obsessive tendencies?" I questioned, "We'll deal with it later…when there's not a leggy brunette waiting for me in a bar off main street," I said once more before I took my leave.
"'May have over-obsessive tendencies'?" Jessie snorted, "There's an understatement."
Jack smiled and continued.
I walked towards the Green Apple, the place where I said I'd meet my date, Sara. The bar was dark, but I easily spotted her as I descended five little steps and walked towards her. She was a short woman with long brown hair, nice legs, and a very poor tolerance for alcohol.
"Jack!" she squealed, latching onto me and giggling. I cringed away from the smell of orange juice. It seemed as if she had had four screwdrivers too many.
"Are you alright?" I asked, depositing her back on her seat. She giggled.
"I'm fiiiiine," she slurred, teetering a little.
"Err…right," I said a little unsurely as I watched her eyes glaze over. Her mouth opened. I jumped back, just in time to save my expensive suit jacket from orange vomit. Then she toppled over the stool and onto the floor, half giggling and half crying.
"Aw, come on!" the bartender moaned, "Listen pal, I can't have her in here like this!"
"Yeah, well, you're the one who was serving her," I muttered, pulling Sara to her feet and propping her up next to the bar, "Can I use your phone?" I asked. He shrugged and pointed towards it. After calling a cab for her, I leaned against the bar, beer bottle in hand, and watched as the bartender mopped up the vomit. Sara had her head in a garbage can.
"I hate my brother," I mumbled, wishing I hadn't spent so long with Giovanni in the gym. That worry-wart needed to cool his jets and relax instead of spending so much time worrying about Joseph's family. Now my date was hammered and completely out of it.
Then I looked up and saw a familiar figure enter the bar. My attention peaked, for she was wearing a little navy blue dress that was made for attracting attention. Her purple hair was done up in a bun, but some errant curls fell into her face. I thought I saw her smirk when she saw me, but she descended the steps and breezed right by me, grabbing a stool two spots away from me. I couldn't help but stare. That dress really captured a man's attention.
"Your date is throwing up," she said, staring at me from the corner of her eye.
"Huh?" I said stupidly before remembering that Sara was still propped against the bar. I cringed away and looked at Miyamoto, "She's getting a cab," I offered in explanation.
"Well, you two have fun with that," she said dryly, smirking over her drink.
"She's getting a cab alone," I amended. She said nothing. Just nodded. There was silence and then the bartender approached.
"The cab is here," he said.
"Excellent," I said, lifting Sara to her feet and guiding her…well, dragging may be the better term…through the crowd towards the door. I quickly deposited her in a cab and gave the cabbie her address before I turned back to the door.
"Dick move," Jessie commented. Jack sighed and nodded.
I know it seemed callous of me, to leave my date in the back of the cab, but there was something about Miyamoto that just called out to me and I had never ignored my…gut before. I re-entered the bar and found her right where I left her, sipping her drink. I smirked as I saw some young men eying her nervously, trying to summon the courage to approach her. I walked down the steps and sat down in the seat beside her.
"Can I help you, Mr. Sakaki?" she asked after a moment.
"Please, call me Jack," I directed her, "And it's not good to drink alone."
"Just like it's not good to deposit a drunk girl in cab while you stay at the bar?" she asked innocently.
"She's taken care of," I replied.
"Lucky her," Miyamoto said dryly.
"Can I buy you a drink?" I asked, pulling out a twenty. She appraised me for a moment before nodding.
"I suppose you do owe me," she replied, pushing her empty glass away.
"Owe you?" I questioned, frowning. She turned to me.
"Are you even aware that after your brother got chewed out for your antics when Madam Boss was away, me and my team were the ones to pick up the pieces? Do you know how long it took to clean her office and repair that stupid water pipe? And did you even think about who would go about breaking those arrested agents out of jail?" she asked me, a dangerous edge to her voice.
"My apologies," I said, surprised.
"Next time, try not leave evidence behind. Crime 101," she informed me with a roll of her sapphire eyes.
"What evidence?" I shot at her.
"Green silk tie," she said, appraising my tie, "I noticed that you seem to favour those."
"Well, they do look good on the bed posts," I replied, wiggling my eyebrows.
"Has anyone ever fallen for that come-on line?" she asked, clearly unimpressed.
"Actually, you'd be surprised by how many women are into the bondage thing," I told her, smirking.
"Handcuffs are kinkier," she quipped, taking another drink. I blinked, not expecting that line.
"Um…uh…" I stammered. It was her turn to smirk.
"What? Not used to having a woman who can outwit you?" she taunted. I raised an eyebrow.
"You didn't out wit me," I told her.
"I think I did, Sakaki," she replied.
"Call me Jack, please, Miyamoto," I requested again.
"Habit," she replied, "and I prefer Miya."
"Miya it is," I said, pushing some money towards the bartender as he pushed new drinks towards us.
"She's kind of cool," Jessie appraised. Jack smiled.
"She was the best for a reason," he replied, "She was amazing. In more ways than one."
We sat together all night, joking and laughing. She was captivating and I had the feeling that even if I had wanted to, I wouldn't be able to leave her. There was just something that clicked. I wondered how she'd feel against me.
"Dance with me," I requested, taking her slender hand in mine.
"What?" she asked, an incredulous edge to her voice.
"Dance with me," I repeated, moving to take her empty glass from her other hand.
"Jack Sakaki dances?" she questioned, laughing.
"Very well," I told her, pulling her out onto the floor. And then she was in my arms, her arm resting on my shoulder as she pressed her body against mine. She looked so comfortable there, like she belonged there with me.
"So…Jack," she said, drawing out my name. She was just three measly inches away. It was killing me!
"Miya," I said her name, my voice suddenly deeper, huskier as imagined closing that short distance between us.
"I should warn you. We're getting to the part of the night where I make incredibly bad decisions," she told me. I could feel her breath against my lips.
"I think you could make a good one tonight," I responded. Unable to take the torture of having her so close, I closed the distance, kissing her soft lips. I felt her respond…and then pull back.
"This would fall under bad decisions," she whispered, her face still inches from mine.
"Bad can be good, you know," I whispered back, leaning in again. She responded again and I felt her hand rake through my hair. It drove me crazy. Just as I was about to deepen the kiss, she pulled away.
"I don't want to get left in a cab," she murmured. It took me a moment to understand what she meant.
"I'd never leave you," I said, "Never."
"You say that now…"
"I mean it," I told her seriously, "I'll stay with you all night and all morning and all day until you order me away," I pledged, pulling her tighter against me as my lips claimed hers once again. She was the one who deepened the kiss, her hands running through my hair, pulling my face closer to hers. All I wanted to do was rip that little navy blue dress off of her and touch her. I wanted to make her moan and cry out my name in ecstasy. I wanted to feel her shiver as I slowly kissed my way down her body, taking my time, making her beg me to hurry up. Then Miya broke the kiss and jolted me out of my fantasies.
"We need to get out of here," she whispered, gently kissing along my jaw as she pressed her hips to mine.
"Your place or mine?" I asked huskily, slowly pushing her dress up her leg.
"I live two blocks over," she murmured.
"Let's go," I said. I never let go of her hand as we practically ran down the street to her apartment building. We tumbled into the elevator and it was all I could do not to have her right then and there.
"Wanna do something crazy?" she asked, pressing a button.
"Absolutely," I replied, returning her devious grin. She pulled me out of the elevator on the top floor and then towards a stairwell.
"What are we-"
"Shhh!" she hissed, still smirking as she raced up the steps and paused at the door to slide a credit card over the lock, "Come on," she whispered, disappearing behind the door. I was right behind her and I was a little surprised to feel the cool night air on my skin once more.
"A rooftop?" I questioned, smirking. The secret smirk she shot at me nearly had me on my knees.
"Beds are boring," she replied, her sapphire eyes dancing, "And I bet you're anything but boring."
"I think I really like you," I told her as I approached her. I was a little surprised when she pushed me back into a lawn chair. She stood over me, always smirking, making my heart hammer in my chest. Then she silently turned around so I could watch as her nimble fingers slowly unzipped her dress.
I just sat there, mesmerized as she continued to strip in front of me. I knew right then that I would remember that night forever.
"On a rooftop?" Jessie asked, cringing, "Why on earth would you want to have sex on dirty, grimy rooftop?"
Jack laughed, "Bed's are boring," he replied.
"Could you have found a less romantic setting?" Jessie asked, "I mean, the smell of the city alone is a big turnoff. Add the traffic noises and light pollution and...ugh, peeping Toms! That must have been one unsexy mood," she told him. He chuckled again in amusement.
"Oh, I beg to differ," Jack told her, "It was definitely a good mood," he said, his thoughts drifting back to that rooftop, watching Miya walk towards him while the city lights twinkled in the background.
TBC
AN: So I think this has to be one of my favourite chapters so far. Miyamoto is a lot of fun to write. So were Jessie's comments at the end XD. Of course that girl WOULD have an opinion lol. The begining was a bit of a summary so far with Jessie reflecting. I'm already looking forward to the next chapter, which will be sometime this weekend. Anyhow, let me know what you think of this one!
Songs that inspired this chapter:
-Rooftops and Invitations by Dashboard Confessional (freaking awesome band!). I've always wanted to use it in a fanfic and it really describes how Jack feels about Miya here.
-Wicked Game by Chris Isaak. For some reason whenever I picture Miya and Jack dancing, this song is always playing in my mind, even though it was probably released after this event would have taken place. Anyways, I think it really describes their relationship.