Lay all your love on me
Sometimes, Jessie pored over the many adventures she and her team mates had undergone. Thinking back to events of the past, she had to admit that the trio had frequently been in danger. They had almost been killed by a Metagross, they had escaped from spooky mansions and they had dove into breakneck activities putting their lives at steak. It was true, being a Team Rocket agent was associated with risks, but she had always been strong and valiant enough to take on that suffering.
The only fear that had really been bothering her, was losing her closest friends. Since childhood, Jessie had been afraid of abandonment and loneliness. Growing up at an orphanage, she had never experienced love and appreciation, but reuniting with James had opened up new vistas. In his presence, she would experience knew and unknown feelings.
He was slightly heavy-handed and maybe not a smart cookie, but he sure had a heart of gold. James was generous and loyal, and more particularly, he was able to deal with Jessie's mood swings that ranged from euphoria to deep doubts. All the more, Jessie feared that one day he would fall in love with another woman and forsake his team mates.
It had happened before. She remembered their stay at Maiden's Peak where James only had eyes for a ghost, not even a real person. He had been drawn in by her delicate figure, the expressionless and empty eyes, her poignant and unlucky love story. Jessie had intended to do everything possible to break the spell. Of course, she had never conceded that it was because she liked James.
Yes, she adored his sense of humor, his power of persuasion and his unshaken believe in Jessie's show talents. Every time she performed on stage, he would cheer her at the top of his voice. He would literarily scream his head off in order to show her his strong affection.
Jessie heaved a deep sigh. He had his rough edges, he wasn't perfect or flawless and his so-called brilliant ideas would normally go down like a lead balloon, but how much would she miss him if he decided to spend the rest of his life with a stranger like... Temacu? A stranger with the personality of a street lamp...
She recalled the past. Team Rocket had planned to marry James off in order to get their hands on the Pokémon at the lab of Temacu's father. Jessie had played along, forcing her best friend to enter a relationship with that girl, but secretly, she had felt jab daggers to her heart. It had been agonizing to see James linking arms with that brat, caressing her thigh and whispering little stories about love into her ear, but she had put of with the pain, for the sake of Team Rocket.
James was rather shy and wary when it came to romantic feelings, which wasn't his fault. His ex-fiancée Jessiebelle must have exercised such pressure that it made him abjure love and shut himself off to all kind of women. What senseless torture did he have to endure that left him mentally and physically scarred?
‚Will he ever be able to develop feelings again? Will he ever develop feelings for me or am I merely a colleague, a travelling companion, romantic notions entirely excluded? What if he leaves, what if all his cheering and support are nothing more but a token of friendship?' Jessie thought, unconsciously drawing circles in the sand. She bit her lower lip, trying to switch off these gruelling ideas.
‚What if he leaves? What if he's going to maroon me too? What if he will be gone forever? Is there a point of being a criminal agent without a goofy but sweet-natured man like James?'
Suddenly, she could feel two firm hands on her shoulders jolting her back into reality. „Stewing over something, Jess?" James asked, sitting down right next to her, warming himself by the weak fire. Jessie shook her head, hiding her concerns and trepidations. „No," she replied, a faint smile crossing her face, „I'm just glad you're here," she confessed, trying hard to appear self-confident. James laid an arm around her waist, placing a tender kiss on her forehead.
„Always," he whispered.