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 7: Torture of Falling

I want your nails scrapping down the back of my neck
I've got a burning in my chest, it's calling for your thighs
This is me and you, you and me for the first time

I've been waiting
You've been dreaming of everything I'm talking about

It's a war in your bedroom baby
I'd cut off my tongue for just a taste
...A Change of Pace - War In Your Bedroom

The next morning, Jessie awoke forgetting where she was until the clanging of the chains on her wrists reminded her. She looked at the thick metal loops on her wrists and felt unbelievably depressed, knowing that she would be stuck to this wall for the rest of her life…barring she didn't take a piece of metal and stick it in the lock to see if the thing would actually blow her to smithereens. She shut her eyes and willed the thought from her mind. She wasn't weak like that. She was always the strong one. She thought of James, of where he was now and what he was doing. She shuddered, remembering that old nightmare that had revisited her last night. Wherever he was, she hoped that he was safe.

She looked around the room and noticed that Jack was no where to be seen. She stretched and whimpered as she moved her broken ankle. She breathed in and out slowly, gritting her teeth, as she sat up. She looked over at the chamber pot and groaned.

"Stupid son-of-a-bitch," Jessie muttered, feeling her hate for Giovanni increase tenfold as she struggled to use the facilities. Never before had she held so much respect for the man who invented indoor plumbing. She stumbled back to her bed and stewed over the entire situation. She jumped when the door opened and a cold breeze swept through the room.

"Sorry," Jack said, shutting the door with his foot as he deposited a pile of logs near the fireplace. Jessie shrugged in response as he took off his jacket.

"Hungry?" he asked.

"Yeah, a bit," Jessie admitted. He tossed her a granola bar from the cupboard.

"In the interest of preserving food since Gio probably won't be sending any for a while, we're going to have to ration," he explained. Jessie shrugged.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'm pretty accustomed to not eating."

"How's that work?" he asked, a little concerned.

"Well, apparently your brother refuses to pay employees who can't catch a little yellow rodent," she commented a bit bitterly.

"Well, failure was never rewarded in our house," Jack nodded, ripping into a granola bar.

"Was sleeping with a subordinate on a rooftop rewarded in your house?" Jessie asked curiously. Jack nearly choked on his granola bar.

"What?" he spluttered.

"I'm just asking…you know…about your story," Jessie shrugged, "Last time we left you and Miya, you had just done the no-pants dance on a dirty, grimy-"

"I get your point," Jack cut across her, "and the next part goes like this…"

I sat on a stool and watched with interest as Miya moved around her kitchen to pour herself a bowl of cereal. She was wearing my black dress shirt from the night before, which she had hijacked when we made our way off the roof ten minutes ago. Not that I was complaining, especially as she reached for the cereal box on the top shelf of the cupboard. She poured the Cheerios and then the milk and stirred it with her spoon. Then she set it on the wood counter that separated the two of us. She arched a perfect eyebrow as she observed me observing her.

"There's more cereal in the cupboard," she told me as she brought a spoonful to her mouth.

"Aww, I was kind of hoping for breakfast in bed," I teased as I got up and padded around the counter.

"Kind of impossible considering we didn't make it to the bed," she reminded me. I smirked over my shoulder at her as I reached for a box of Rice Krispies.

"Beds are boring," I echoed her sentiment from the night before. She glanced over at me with an amused smirk.

"I seem to have made an impression on you, Jack," she observed. I grinned as I poured the cereal into a bowl.

"A very positive one," I agreed, grabbing a couple spoonfuls of sugar and dumping them over my cereal. I couldn't help the smile on my face as the rice cereal began to pop. It took me back to a childhood memory when me and my brothers used to compete to see who could make their cereal pop the loudest.

"You're joking," Jessie said in disbelief.

"We were young once you know," Jack defended.

"Still…"

"He's wasn't always so heartless, Jessilina," Jack said sadly, "He used to be a real sensitive kid…my brother. There was a time when his biggest ambition was collecting the most baseball cards."

Jessie shook her head stubbornly, "That doesn't change my opinion of him. Sure, he was a kid once, but to me, he'll always be a monster."

She expected him to rebuff her, to defend the man who had imprisoned both of them, but instead he just sighed, "I can understand," he said softly, "I was just telling you; there was a time when he was innocent."

"That doesn't change much," she replied, "Are you going to continue?" she asked.

"Yes," he said, nodding.

Miya was giving me an odd look as I grinned at my cereal.

"What?" I asked, scooping some Rice Krispies and popping them into my mouth.

"It's kind of strange to see the son of a crime boss sitting in his boxers eating Rice Krispies," she admitted.

"Stale Rice Krispies," I corrected once I managed to swallow the stale cereal, "And I'm not just a crime boss's son," I told her.

"I told Catherine to eat all those before the last trip," she said, "So what else are you, Mr. Sakaki?" she asked curiously as she ate another spoonful. I frowned.

"I…run a gym," I said. She raised an eyebrow.

"That all?" she asked, not in an accusatory voice, but in a curious one. That made me think.

"I'm an excellent lover," I added. She smirked at me.

"We might have to work at the excellent part," she teased. Ouch.

"That hurts," I said, stomaching another spoonful of stale cereal.

"So what else? A co-leader of Viridian Gym, good in bed…" she trailed off, waiting for me to add something.

"I play a mean game of chess," I added.

"I've never played," she said.

"You'd be good at it," I replied, "It's all about strategy and mind games."

"Oh?" she asked, a little edge to her voice. I chuckled.

"All women play mind games, Babe. Deal with it," I told her.

"So what else are you about, huh?" she asked, shaking her heads.

"Why am I telling you all this?" I questioned, "I don't feel right laying all my cards on the table without seeing a few of yours. What about you, Quizmaster?"

She smiled coyly, "I'm your mother's top agent."

"Duh. Next," I requested.

"I am excellent in bed," she said, smirking at me.

"We might have to work on the excellent part," I mimicked her.

"I have a black belt, a sister, and I kick ass at Monopoly," she listed off, "Happy?"

"Very…and I bet I could kick your ass in Monopoly," I challenged. She raised an eyebrow.

"I have a board," she offered.

"Well then, it's time to put your play money where your mouth is," I said, rubbing my hands together. She moved to the living room and I abandoned the soggy, stale cereal and followed her.

"I call the dog," I said.

"The dog?" she asked.

"My mother never let me have a dog," I shrugged. She laughed.

"So catch a growlithe," she replied.

"I have an arcanine," I grinned.

"I prefer ninetails, myself," she said as she grabbed the thimble.

"Maybe they'll hit it off as good as their masters have," I said, grabbing the dice. She smiled at me.

"I'd say we have hit it off pretty good," she agreed, watching as I moved my dog five spaces. She fished out the property card from the deck and fanned herself with it as she leaned against the couch, crossing her legs and shooting me a sultry grin. She reminded me of some evil temptress coyly seducing the hero.

"Do I have to wrestle you for it?" I taunted. She smirked.

"I'd probably win," she taunted back. I chuckled and she did too. Then I launched a sneak attack, rolling around on the floor with her. In seconds, she was on top of me, but judging from the smug look on her face, it had been her plan all along.

"I will get that card," I vowed. She grinned down at me.

"No, you won't," she said in a singsong voice. Then her lips were on mine and that was all I needed to rip my shirt off of her shoulders.

"What are you going to say?" Jack groaned, seeing the smirk on Jessie's face.

"Nothing," Jessie shrugged.

"Come on, now, Jessilina," he prodded, "No comments about having sex on a Monopoly board?"

"I just hope you didn't roll over any of the little houses," she remarked, "And it is more sanitary than a rooftop."

He chuckled and shook his head.

"So much for that idea," Miya commented, looking over at the destroyed Monopoly board. I chuckled.

"You're the one who wouldn't give me the card," I reminded her. She looked back at me, an eyebrow raised. Then she stretched out on the floor beside me.

"You wouldn't have won, anyways," she told me, grinning. I grinned back.

"I know another game we could play," I suggested, "but I think we need a few more clothes to play strip chess."

She shook her head, "We're already naked and you want to put clothes on?" she asked.

"I like it when girls strip for me, okay?" I shrugged, not bothering to tell her that I liked when SHE stripped for me. She already knew that. Instead I conceded defeat, "Another time then."

She frowned a little as she looked over at me and for one horrible moment, I thought she was going to say 'no'.

"I'd like that," she said after a moment. I smiled.

"Good. Because there's a lot of things I want to do to you right now," I told her. She smirked.

"Like?"

"Well, I am going to get on top for once," I warned her.

"So you think," she teased, crawling on top of me. I rolled us over.

"Where are your handcuffs?" I asked, grinning.

I stayed there all day and it was the best day I had had in a long time. I was very sorry when I had to leave at five o'clock. It was Sunday, therefore, it was dinner at Mother's.

"You could come with," I suggested when Miya returned after retrieving my pants from the rooftop. She snorted.

"Are you kidding? Madam Boss would flip her lid and I'd be out of a job," she replied. I shrugged.

"Well, I'm in the business of recruitment, so I could give you a job," I said, wiggling my eyebrows suggestively, "besides, it's so boring there. I'd much rather have the option to shag you in the hall closet than listen to Giovanni and Joe kiss ass," I pouted.

"'Shag in the hall closet'?" she asked, raising an eyebrow, "You make it sound so tasteful."

"Beds are boring," I shrugged. She shook her head as she grabbed my tie from the corner of her bed.

"You sound like a broken record," she commented, "and you seemed to have a good time in mine."

"Okay, every bed is boring except yours," I amended. She rolled her eyes, but I could see the smirk on her lips as she looped my tie over my head and tied it for me.

"Just get going, Sakaki," she groaned, pushing me towards the door.

"Want to get rid of me that quickly?" I pouted, "Didn't you enjoy our time together?"

"Of course," she assured me, "Especially when I had you handcuffed to the bed," she teased. I frowned.

"I will be on top," I vowed. She laughed.

"Not tonight, Cowboy. I'm a little saddle-sore," she said as she shoved me out the door. I was grinning as I made my way out of her apartment.

I was still grinning when I arrived at my mother's mansion. I heard a bunch of chatter from the dining room and even the fact that they had started eating without me couldn't break my mood. I tried to quietly sneak to my chair. I failed.

"Jack Gregorio Sakaki, where have you been?" Mother asked, her voice slow and menacing as she raised those cold grey eyes from her plate to look at me.

"I was with a friend," I answered, ignoring my brothers' smirks, "Lost track of time."

Mother's eyes narrowed, "Next time tell your little tramp that you have to be home for dinner," she told me, causing Joseph to choke on his steak. I clenched my hands under the table.

"Yes, mother," I muttered, looking down at the empty silver plate before me.

"As I was saying Mother, I was thinking that instead of wasting revenue on more teams, we could-"

"I will not say it again, Giovanni. Science labs will not profit," Mother scoffed at him.

"Mother, the labs mean better designs and-"

"When your father and I started this company, we had no use for silly things like labs," Mother reminded him.

"Then why have an organization called Team Rocket? We should be leaders in science and technology…"

"Are you okay?" Jade whispered to me while her husband tried to sell Mother on his latest idea.

"Fine," I murmured as the servant dished my plate. I think I would have preferred the stale Rice Krispies at Miya's.

"You don't seem like it," she whispered, "Who is she?"

"Not a tramp," I replied, putting a little too much force into cutting my steak.

"All this talk of technology…we'll buy whatever we need," Joseph said loudly as he shrugged, "One of us is bound to have a girl eventually."

"Have you found out yet?" Mother asked, her voice suddenly more pleasant as she looked at Joe and Isabelle.

"The doctor said we won't find out for another couple months," Isabelle replied, smiling as she placed a hand on her abdomen, where a slight bulge was visible.

"I dunno," Joe shrugged, "I'm kind of looking forward to being surprised," he said. Mother and Giovanni looked at him. Isabelle rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Joseph, Dear, why must you insist on this 'being surprised' business?" she asked, exasperated, "It's just so much more practical to know as soon as possible."

"I like surprises," Joseph said, shooting me a significant glance that I didn't understand.

"But how on earth will we know how to decorate?" Isabelle protested, "Or the clothes to buy? And Annette's been dying to know!"

"So we'll buy stuff for a girl and maybe Gio and Jade will lend us some of Silver's baby clothes if we have a boy," Joe shrugged.

"Joseph, that is very impractical," Mother said, frowning.

"Very," Giovanni agreed, scowling. What was his problem?

"What's life without a little surprise?" Joseph laughed, a nervous smile on his face. What was going on?

"I would find out anyways, Isabelle," Jades said.

"Oh, I couldn't go against my husband's word!" Isabelle yelped, scandalized at the thought.

"What a spineless twit!" Jessie exclaimed in distaste. Jack chuckled and shook his head.

"Oh, she wasn't spineless," he replied.

"What do you call that?" Jessie said incredulously, "There's nothing that annoys me more than those loser girls who need a MAN to tell them what to do! UGH! Get a brain and think for yourself!" she huffed.

"What, you never let James tell you what to do?" Jack teased, taking a drink of water. Jessie made a face.

"Oh, shut up," Jessie grumbled. He laughed.

"Besides, it was all just an act," he said.

I nearly choked on my steak and I heard Jade snort beside me. Was she for real?

"And you shouldn't," Mother agreed with Isabelle before shooting Jade a nasty look, "Perhaps you should take a leaf out of Isabelle's book, Jade," she suggested. I saw Jade's mouth open in response, hurt and indignation on her face. I decided I had to say something before she did.

"I think to each their own," I said, "Some women like to listen to their husbands. Some like to do their own thinking. Personally, I like a woman who can challenge me," I said, thinking about the purple-haired woman I had spent the day with. Miya had a mind of her own. I never knew what would come out of her mouth and I liked it. A lot. She was very different than the women I normally hooked up with.

"And that is why you will never settle, Jack," Mother admonished me, "You need to find yourself a nice, sophisticated girl and get married."

"Mother," I moaned, "I'm not-"

"You need a good woman. A woman like-"

"Miss Miyamoto to see you, Ma'am," the butler interrupted her. Everyone turned to look at the doorway where Miya stood wearing long black boots. A long coat covered her body as her hair lightly fell around her shoulders. I tried to suppress my grin, but I'm pretty sure I failed.

"Miyamoto," Mother greeted, frowning.

"Madam Boss, I truly apologize for interrupting your dinner, but I stopped off at headquarters and Amy asked me to deliver these files to you," Miya said, placing the files on the table. Mother took them and then smiled.

"Thank you so much for dropping these by," Mother said, "Would you like to join us for drinks?" she asked, surprising everyone.

"I would be delighted, Madam Boss. Thank you for such an honour," Miya bowed. The butler pulled an empty chair next to mine. I pretended to wipe my face to hide my look of pure exhilaration.

"What were we talking about?" Mother asked. I wasn't about to answer her, but my ever-so intelligent brother had to open his mouth.

"Finding Jack a woman," Joseph replied, trying to hide his laughter. I turned red and plotted various ways to kill him.

"Could we please not-"

"I'm sure that would be an easy task," Miya said, smirking over at me, "He is somewhat handsome."

"Somewhat?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, your face doesn't do you any favours, Jackie," Joe joked. I glared at him.

"You do need a wife, Son," Mother said, taking a sip of wine.

"I don't need a wife," I argued, "I'm perfectly happy-"

"You need to be settled," Mother sniffed, "You need some direction. It was so unfortunate that Clarisse Morgan was already betrothed."

"Yeah, unfortunate for the poor bastard that had to married her," I muttered.

"You know, Mother, I have a friend-"

"No need, Isabelle!" I shouted in barely-disguised panic.

"You know, if you're going to find a woman, you really need to get over that fear of women," Miya said, taking a sip of her wine. I looked over at her.

"You know, Mother, I was thinking about a raid to the Safari Zone," Giovanni said, changing the conversation. I could have kissed him.

"I'll show you 'fear of women,'" I took the opportunity to whisper to Miya. She brought her glass up to her perfect mouth.

"I'm still waiting for you to get on top," she whispered back.

"What happened to 'saddle-sore'?" I asked.

"It was just such a golden opportunity to come torture you," she shrugged, "Couldn't pass that up."

"Torture," I snorted. She shot a sideways grin at me.

"Wanna know what I'm wearing under this coat?" she taunted. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline.

"What do you think, Jack?" Giovanni asked me.

"Huh? What?" I asked stupidly. He frowned.

"Next week. I'll take the gym, Joseph will head to Saffron, and you'll train the new recruits," he repeated for me.

"Smashing," I replied, my mind still on what Miya might or might not be wearing under her coat. It certainly didn't help when I felt her foot rub against my leg.

"Keep it up and there's gonna be trouble," I whispered, shifting slightly, shooting a glance at Jade to make sure she hadn't noticed.

"I love trouble," she whispered back, winking. Then she plucked a strawberry from the dessert tray that the waiters had just brought out and slowly bit into it.

Fuck.

The woman was going to kill me.

I needed to get her to a coat closet. Or a bathroom. Or a just anywhere where my family wasn't.

Now.

"That was one of the most torturous evenings of my entire life," Jack sighed, "but I'll be damned if I didn't fall head over heels for her."

"She sounds like she could really give you a run for your money," Jessie commented.

"Oh, she could," he agreed, "She definitely could. I was so nervous that someone would catch on."

"Did anyone find out?" she asked. At this, there was almost a sad smile on his face.

"That is for later in the story," he said, turning away, leaving Jessie to wonder just how his seemingly perfect world had come crumbling down.

TBC

AN: Okay, so I feel extremely guilty for writing this chapter instead of studying, but whatever. I needed a break and writing Miya is a lot of fun. Hope you guys enjoy this :)

Songs that inspired this chapter:
- A Change of Pace - War in Your Bedroom