"Cheers to dah newest, most promisin' team of agents in Team Rocket history!"
The newly formed trio cheered in unison, loudly clinking their bottles of cheap beer together. It had been less than an hour since they received word that they had earned fully-fledged agent status. This victory was especially sweet in light of the obstacles all three had faced, not just in the rigorous training process, but throughout the entirety of their lives. Jessie, the girl who faced abandonment at every turn and had never experienced love or friendship, had finally found a family in her team. James, the boy who constantly ran from fear and pain after being hurt by the people who were supposed to love him most, finally found a place where he felt safe and secure. And Meowth, the pokemon who sought companionship but found nothing but rejection, had finally found a group who fully accepted him and all of his idiosyncrasies. As they sat cross-legged on the cold floor of Jessie's room, all three felt unstoppable.
Amongst the gleeful chatter, James suddenly fell silent as he found himself distracted by the glint of something metallic on the floor. Immediately identifying the glint as bottlecaps from his teammate's beers, he frantically scooped them up and examined them closely. A contented grin crossed his face before he closed his eyes and clutched them firmly in his palms, relishing the feel of the cool metal against his skin. His teammates soon fell silent as well, turning to watch him curiously. The sudden hush that filled the room pulled James from his reverie and he opened his eyes to see two puzzled faces staring back at him. With a soft chuckle, he buried the bottlecaps in his pocket and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.
"You still haven't outgrown that childhood hobby, I see." Despite the teasing edge in her words, the warmth in her smile made it clear that she was pleased to see a glimpse of the boy she had lost touch with years ago. Though their sudden and unexpected reunion had been jarring to both, Jessie was grateful that they were able to leave old mistakes in the past and move forward again as friends and partners.
Jessie felt suddenly anxiety simmer in the pit of her stomach as she found herself slipping into sweet, sentimental thoughts about her long-time friend. In effort to push those feelings aside, she blurted, "We should play a game!"
After a gulp of beer and a loud belch, Meowth replied, "What kinda game?"
Jessie pressed a finger to her lips pensively. "How about... Truth or Dare?"
James suddenly tensed, and Meowth noticed immediately. "What's Truth o' Dare?"
Jessie rolled her eyes, having momentarily forgotten that her pokemon companion hadn't grown up with such games. "It's a game where each of us has to choose between answering a question truthfully or performing a dare. The other two get to choose the question or the dare."
With another swig of his beer, Meowth replied confidently, "M'kay. I accept dat challenge."
Jessie turned to James, her eyes wordlessly imploring him to respond. Swallowing his apprehension, he replied, "S-sure. I'm in." He was determined to bravely face any new challenge that came his way, including drunken games with his long lost best friend and his new feline companion.
Jessie shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position on the unforgiving tile floor. With a mischievous smile, she declared. "Meowth, you go first. Truth or Dare?"
"What?! Dat ain't fair! Why me?" Meowth slammed his beer bottle against the floor to punctuate his words.
Jessie simply shrugged. "Because I said so. No further explanation necessary. So, what's your choice?"
With a sigh, Meowth resigned. "Fine. Let's get it over wit'. Gimme a dare."
The look of mischief returned to Jessie's face. "I dare you to call the boss right now and tell him Cassidy's a conniving bitch."
With a loud scoff, Meowth locked eyes with Jessie and cast her a deadly glare as she returned his gaze in kind, neither willing to back down. James shifted nervously, his apprehension toward this game growing stronger.
Meowth was the first to break their staring contest as he crossed his arms and turned his back to his teammates. "Dis ain't my t'ing. I'm outta here. I'll be stuffin' my face in da dinin' hall if youse two need me. Have fun with your stupid game." His partners watched in a daze as he staggered out of the room and attempted to slam the door, which proved difficult as the alcohol he consumed impaired the function of his paws.
As the sounds of Meowth's footsteps faded down the hallway, Jessie and James looked at each other with a shrug.
"I suppose the boss is a sore subject?" James mused.
Jessie hummed lightly in response, appearing lost in thought for a moment. "I suppose so. Well, that doesn't mean we have to stop! Your turn, James. Truth or Dare?"
James felt his pulse accelerate again despite his best attempts at calming breaths. "Oh, um. Well… truth, I guess?" He silently prayed whatever question she asked would be less terrifying than the dare she had proposed to Meowth.
A sudden idea struck Jessie as she noticed her partner's nervous fidgeting. Feeling emboldened by the buzz of alcohol clouding her mind, she landed on a question she knew would make him squirm all the more. "Have you ever been in love?"
Predictably, James' fidgeting increased as his gaze shifted to the floor. He picked at the grout between two tiles, feigning interest in the task as he attempted to quell his nerves. "Yeah. Once. I'd rather not talk about it." His response was so quiet, Jessie almost thought she had imagined it.
She raised an eyebrow, her interest now piqued. Was it someone at Pokemon Tech? Someone in the bike bang? Or someone he had met during our time apart? Either way, the idea didn't sit well with her and she couldn't put a finger on exactly why.
Unable to quell her curiosity, words spilled from her mouth before she could fully consider them. "Do I know her?"
James' eyes immediately flicked to hers as he attempted to read her expression. A voice in the back of his mind cried out, pleading for him to bolt from this discomfort. He quickly squashed the impulse, determined to remain on his current path as New James, the man who faced fears head-on. No more running. With a deep breath, he held her gaze and forced a steady tone. "Jessie, I already answered your question. It's your turn now."
Jessie hadn't expected that response, and it threw her off-kilter enough to launch her into a fit of drunken giggles. This somehow put James at ease, and he smiled as he noted how radiant she looked when she was genuinely happy and carefree. He hadn't seen that look in her eye and that lilt in her voice in years, and he hadn't fully realized until that moment how deeply he had missed her when she was gone.
As her laughter died down, she threw James a sly smirk. "Truth."
Forcing as much confidence into his voice as he could muster, he replied, "Same question for you. Have you ever… been in love?"
"A few times, I guess, but none of them ended up being worth my time." Her tone was flat as she picked at her nails, and though most people wouldn't have noticed the small crack in her armor, it didn't slip past James.
As a brief silence stretched between them, Jessie shifted her gaze back up to James. To her severe discomfort, she found him studying her carefully, as if she were a slide under a microscope. She began to feel the painful itch of vulnerability crawling beneath her skin, a sensation she despised more than any other. A sensation she generally transformed into anger as quickly as possible in order to retain control. However, just before she launched her emotional shift, something in James' expression caught her eye. He wasn't examining her in a scientific way, but rather staring at her as if she were the most enthralling work of art he'd ever seen.
As this realization sank in, Jessie began to feel an oddly familiar magnetic pull. Blue eyes peered into green, and both partners felt as though the air between them had become electrified. Both minds spun as they struggled to pinpoint where they had felt this sensation before, and after a moment they simultaneously landed on the same memory from the previous day. That moment when their bodies were pressed together, adrenaline rushing, faces just inches apart, so close they could just…
Their near-kiss had been the "donphan in the room" ever since, and it could no longer be ignored. Jessie was the first to make a move as she crawled slowly toward James, unable and unwilling to tear her eyes from his as she did so. She felt as though she were in a trance, no longer in control of her own bodily movements.
She halted directly in front of him, tucking her legs underneath her as she leaned forward and placed her hands on either side of his legs. James watched intently, equally entranced and powerless against the pull between them. Slowly, gradually, their faces tilted closer. When mere inches separated them, they paused and searched the other's eyes for a sign that they were both feeling that same magnetic pull. Searching for a sign that this moment was real and not a figment of their imaginations.
Emboldened by alcohol and James' scent, Jessie whispered, "I dare you to kiss me."
With that, James closed the gap between them, tentatively brushing his lips against hers. When he backed away a fraction of an inch to gauge her reaction, he was caught off guard by her face hungrily plunging back toward his. This motion sent James toppling backward as he inadvertently pulled Jessie down with him. Once again, the pair found their bodies pressed together, one pinned underneath the other and they stared into each other's eyes. Though their positions were reversed this time, the heat between them blazed just as strongly as it had the day before. But this time, there were no interruptions or mission deadlines looming over their heads. Their lips collided and fingers tangled in hair as they lost themselves in breathless kisses and gentle caresses. In that moment, the two agents who had only lives of pain until this point felt as though their futures had never been brighter. Consumed by each other's scent and the feel of each other's skin as the electricity continued to buzz between them, they were certain there was nothing they couldn't achieve together.