three: friends or whatever

The first date had been somewhat awkward. Jessie seemed tense the whole time, but then talked about how she wasn't at all. The venue also appeared to be a poor choice, Viridian City's mall, when Jessie had to be broke. She wandered around and acted like she wasn't, instead asserting she wasn't interested in the items she tried on, other items she'd seen that had caught her eye. It wasn't like either of them had much room to store acquired possessions in Team Rocket's tiny dorms, anyway.

Spending time with her had been nice, but the date was overall a failure. Butch couldn't even concentrate on Jessie as much as might have been expected, maybe. She probably wouldn't want to go out with him again.

Except she did, agreeing easily at the end of their less than passionate outing. This time, he chose the place - a park which emphasized the presence of and ability to cater to pokemon and trainers in their advertisements. "I've never heard of this place before," Jessie said as they reached the gate.

"It's popular enough that I had to reserve a spot," Butch said as he took out the two tickets. Jessie stared pointedly his way, but allowed him to give the tickets for the pair of them before they entered. "I'm actually from Viridian. So I guess I know about places like this."

"I'm from Viridian too," Jessie said.

"Really?" Butch said with some surprise. He hadn't met her before they'd been part of Team Rocket together, but of course, it was a larger city.

"Well... Not that I spent much time here, before I got sent to all kinds of different homes." Jessie frowned.

Homes, likely as in foster homes. Of course, that was where Butch himself may have ended up, had things been different. Many from Team Rocket had struggles like that, and ended up as part of the organization as a result. The detail was fairly personal, so he might share something personal in return. "Hmph. I wasn't from Viridian in the first place," Butch informed. "Unlike you, I guess. It's just where my mom dumped me before she ran off. I was lucky her family decided to keep me around."

"Her family is yours too, right?" Jessie said.

"Right." Butch swallowed, remembering the feeling of wondering what his 'family' might do with him before things had turned out fine. Or at least okay.

But that was a while ago, long in the past. He could forget about that, and just think about the current very appealing situation with the beautiful woman he was interested in. Butch reached out his hand, and she grasped it. He enjoyed the feeling of her warm, smoothe hand in his own. "You look great, all dressed up," he commented as they continued in. Jessie was wearing a one-piece dress, very attractive, not that she hadn't already been so in her uniform.

Jessie shrugged. "I don't mind wearing the uniform anywhere, but this is something different, right?" she said.

"I'm not in it either," he said. "Yeah. I guess we don't have to be on the job all the time. Even though we live there." Butch smirked, then glanced at the fountain with the various water types bouncing out. "Hitmontop, go!" He sent out his pokemon.

"It's not a water type," Jessie pointed out.

"Swimming can help it out for some battles."

"Hm. Maybe I'll have mine try too."

Arbok was a large pokemon, seeming pleased enough with being part in the water and part out. Wobbuffet almost fell over before it scooted back. Jessie goaded it to try and take a dip, pointing out it wouldn't drown, but Wobbuffet just backed off until Hitmontop splashed it, calling out to the other pokemon. Wobbuffet then took a spot in the shallowest section, playfully batting water back and forth with Hitmontop.

"You have another one too, right?" Jessie asked.

"Hitmontop's the one that deserves a break," Butch said without clarifying, not wanting to think about how Primeape might react. Jessie shrugged before they sat on a bench nearby with a view of their pokemon playing. He took her hand again, and she didn't protest, glancing at him briefly before turning back to the sight of the pokemon in the water. "You do too. Everything okay with work?" he asked.

"Everything's boring with work," Jessie complained.

Boring was good. Boring was much better than how things could get there. Even so, Jessie didn't seem happy with 'boring'. "We're here now," Butch said. "I'm not bored at all." He removed his hand from hers just to place it on her shoulder. His hand ran slowly down her arm as he leaned closer to her. Jessie's face flushed, but she just closed her eyes.

"Wobbuffet!"

The pokemon hopped over, splashing them with remnants of the water, and cooling off the situation. "No one asked you to interrupt!" Jessie shouted, taking out her pokeball to return the talkative psychic type, her face still red.

Butch touched his head awkwardly. The moment was lost, but maybe he shouldn't have been moving that fast anyway. He wanted to kiss her for sure, and more than that, but it was better to take things slower. He ought to thank Jessie's pokemon for interfering before he really messed things up. "Why don't we go see somewhere else," he suggested.

Jessie agreed, and they allowed their visible two pokemon to follow, finding an obstacle course that was too small for Arbok, but Hitmontop found some success completing. Then there was a maze that required them to use pokemon techniques to complete. Jessie grew frustrated at one blockade's nonresponse to her pokemon's attacks, including both Arbok's poison and Hitmontop's repeated kicks, before a different trainer came in with a water type that used water gun to wake up what was apparently a stubbornly sleepy sudowoodo. The maze tired out their pokemon from walking and the repeated attacks, so they put them all back in their pokeballs.

After they were done with the attraction, it was already dark. There was a fireworks show which everyone in the park crowded around. Butch watched them, but mostly found himself turning his attention back toward his date. Jessie seemed interested at first, but then frowned, maybe getting bored. Was she not entertained by flash, bang shows like this? Maybe they did appeal mostly to kids, though he still liked to see them at times. But mostly, he was just glad to be there with her. Butch reached toward Jessie, taking her hand. She blinked before opening her eyes and sighing. Jessie leaned against him, seeming to relax with just that before paying more attention to the show in the sky.

After that, they made their way back to the hidden rocket base, somewhat more difficult in the dark, but they knew the way. Getting in the lobby, Jessie sighed again, certainly seeming discontent. Maybe the pokemon-centered park had been a failure as a choice for a date too. The idea was disappointing, but if true, it was his fault. "Guess I'll see you later," Butch said.

"Wait." Jessie held onto his sleeve before he could go. "Can't we hang out here for a while?"

'Here' was the normally busy lobby, though it was empty at this time, lights off other than the exit sign. "Sure," Butch agreed, sitting down with her.

Jessie looked away as he did, before glancing back at him. "You aren't that into me, are you?" she said firmly. The statement was so far from the truth that he had trouble responding right away. She frowned, again glancing at the ground. "It's fine. I'd just rather know now than later."

"Jessie," Butch began, placing his hand on hers, glancing briefly at her body before back at her surprised face. "I'm way too into you."

With that, he forced himself to pull away, which incited Jessie to speak. "I-I-I mean, it's like a friend, right? I don't care. Spending time with you hasn't been that bad. We can be friends, whatever." Jessie quietly sighed and turned away, primping her hair in a seeming attempt to be nonchalant.

He smirked at her obvious nervousness. "I'll gladly be your friend, your whatever. I'd just prefer to be as close as possible," he said. With that declaration, he leaned toward her with thoughts of how close they might get. As Jessie turned and faced him, he sat up, turning away from her pretty face.

Jessie groaned. "You say that, but then why do you start and stop like that?" she asked.

Oh. Maybe he had been just now, and even before. On their first date, he'd pulled her close with thought to do something else, just to step away like nothing had happened. There were probably other times he'd done similar without thinking of it much as well. No wonder Jessie was getting mixed signals. "Sorry. I just don't think it's a good idea to take it as far as I want," he admitted.

"How far do you want to go?"

Butch sat up straighter as Jessie moved closer to him this time, meeting his gaze. He swallowed nervously as she came even closer, pushing his hair back before running her hand down the side of his face. "Jessie, you..." he whispered as he felt her touch.

"I want to see just what you want," Jessie said. She was being pretty direct and bold, but in another way seemed as nervous as him, her eyes flittering back and forth between him and the wall as the pace of her breath subtly increased. Still, she tried to meet his gaze, also showing her confidence in a way.

This was a woman that seemed to truly want him, a relationship with him, be it friendship or something else. And wanting that 'something else', here she was, seeming apprehensive about what might or might not happen between them, quite the reverse from previous situations in his life. He definitely couldn't leave her waiting. Knowing this much, doing so would be cruel. It wasn't like he didn't want more than what had happened between them that day. Even being worried about going too fast, he didn't want to deny her the opportunity to speed up the pace of the relationship. He was going to give her what she wanted. At that point, she only wanted to see a little more of his own desires, was that it?

Butch put his hand on the small of Jessie's back. She gasped as he leaned over, closing her eyes before he kissed her. He pulled back and observed her, the dim lighting making it difficult to see much, but her face had lit up, showing an expression that didn't seem at all displeased. Before he could think about it more, she straddled him, taking the initiative in kissing him this time. He'd gladly let her take whatever she wanted from him. He touched her side as they continued, both starting to breathe faster in-between kisses. Jessie gasped as he became more bold, touching her chest. He wondered how much more she might like. Before he could continue and see, the bright florescent lights of the lobby turned on.

After being basically in the dark, the glaring lighting was jarring, as was the idea that there was someone in there with them, watching. Jessie didn't get off him right away, but did turn away from him, eventually doing so. Butch sat up, noting unhappily that it was indeed Wendy that had interrupted them. He was already embarrassed, but literally anyone else might have been better.

"Do you know where you are?" Wendy decided to ask.

"Go to hell," Butch said under his breath, but Jessie's words overtook his.

"If you knew someone was in here, you should have just stayed away!"

"Oh? Should I?" Wendy raised her eyebrows as if considering the idea. "Is there a reservation system I missed? Maybe I'll ask the boss if I can use his common areas for this kind of thing too."

"We're done," Butch said, standing up and heading toward the door. He'd been getting really into that, momentarily forgetting any hesitations or hang-ups he'd had. But yeah, that was done. No way they'd get back to it after being around Wendy, even if they could find a private spot elsewhere, which wasn't likely. Their voyeur was right that it wasn't really the right place, anyway.

Before opening the door that would lead to the dorm he'd been staying in, Butch forced himself to look back at Jessie and smile. "Later then," he said, hoping he imparted his fond sentiments for their time together as well as that he actually wanted to see her later.

Jessie probably wouldn't want to do anything else with him, Butch thought as he went through the dimly lit halls, occasionally passing by some others. Then again, maybe she would. He'd been apprehensive to initiate much of anything that day while she'd been the one who sought out more. The thought that Jessie might really want him, to spend even more time around him, left him with a warm feeling even with how their date had ended.

"Well, if it isn't Jessie!" Wendy greeted with a wry sort of smile as she interrupted the admittedly less than busy work in the closet.

"What do you want? You got a message for us, or what?" Meowth demanded, hopping on the table in front of the experimental training machine they had out.

"I was just wondering where you lot went," Wendy said.

"We've been here all along," James pointed out, stepping out from where he'd been putting a different device away.

"And James, too!" Wendy said as if she'd just noticed him, her expression twisting more. "Did you hear what Jessie and Butch were up to in the lobby the other day?"

"James isn't the type to push himself into every detail of someone else's love life!" Jessie shouted.

Wendy's smile fell, her expression softening at Jessie's tone. "Jessie, are you really so low you'd stoop to dredging through the sludge for decaying trash like him?"

The question hit Jessie with a prickly feeling. Viscerally, Jessie wanted to reject it, for both the insult to him as well as the implied insult that she was trolling the bottom sections of society. "I'm plenty picky!" Jessie insisted. "What's your problem with him anyway?!" she demanded. Even before this incident, this woman had been especially nasty to Butch from what Jessie had seen. "Maybe because he likes me over you or something? Get over it."

Even with Jessie's shouting, Wendy only responded calmly, "Of course I don't care about that. He's my cousin."

Maybe she thought that was a gotya, but knowing that fact only made Jessie dislike the other woman's attitude and words more. There was nothing so wrong with him that he had to be treated like this by his family. Family should be appreciated. "Get out," Jessie ordered.

"I'm just looking out for you, you know. You know what he's put others through?" Wendy asked.

"Answer Meowth's question!" Jessie shouted back. "Give us our message, and then get out!"

"I just wouldn't want you to go through that kind of pain," Wendy said with a shrug, holding up her empty hands. Of course she didn't have anything for them. She was only there to spout shit. Jessie glared silently before their interloper finally left.

Who would listen to that kind of nonsense? He wasn't hurting anyone. Time with him had been the opposite of hurt and pain. At first, Jessie had just enjoyed having someone to blow off steam with. It wasn't like she hadn't been nervous about returning to the main base of operations after so long. Butch getting his frustrations out into the open had prompted her to do the same. Insulting each other had been a great way to forget any apprehension. Then, she'd had fun thinking he was more down on his luck than them, even knowing logically that might not be the case. If he accepted her invitation to be beaten in a pokemon battle, what had been the harm in that?

Then she'd actually gotten comfortable around him. He was interested in her of course, but who wouldn't be? He'd better appreciate that she'd allowed him the pleasure of her company. That any man would enjoy such courtesy had been Jessie's thought.

Even asserting that much to herself, having him eventually say directly he actually was interested had more of an effect on her than she might have expected. That he'd had the backbone to ask her out excited her much more than she'd been in a long time. What might happen between them was a thought that came up quite often. At first, the reality had seemed to disappoint, even enjoying his company. But then last time they'd dated-

"Hey, what were you getting up to with that guy in the lobby anyway?" Meowth asked.

"Enough of that conversation! Is it really your concern?" Jessie barked.

"Jessie," James interrupted, his tone serious. Jessie calmed, turning his way. "I've heard things about him too."

"You have, huh?" Jessie said, frowning as she took out the report of the training device, flipping through it haphazardly. She should be worried about if she could use it on her pokemon, but instead they were on this topic. "Anyone can start rumors. Do you think he's dangerous or something?"

Even though she'd scoffed at the idea, James's face remained serious, and even paused before he answered. "No... It doesn't seem he'd attack you in any way, but there's other ways to be hurt."

How ominous, but also stupid. "Enough of that," Jessie asserted. "I'm not so fragile that you have to get overly concerned."

With that both of her then annoying partners finally dropped the topic, turning back to their work. It had been a few days since she'd really been able to talk to Butch, though they'd seen each other around. She felt like going to try and find her love interest immediately, but he was probably just as busy with similar drudgery. Even being more active, their salary was so low, and she had to share a small dorm with both James and Meowth, not being able to afford her own place. This wasn't the glamorous life they'd joined for, or at least she'd joined for. "Isn't this boring? Why are we even in Team Rocket?" Jessie asked.

"Team Rocket's the best! The boss is gonna lead us to success," Meowth declared.

Jessie looked at the pokemon humorlessly. "When? And what do we get in the meantime, all this boring work?" she demanded.

"Are you saying you're doubting him?!" Meowth demanded, standing up straight on the table to try and meet Jessie's gaze with its unhappy glare.

"Um... Well, we have been training our pokemon to be even more powerful," James pointed out.

Jessie closed her eyes, sighing. "Forget it, I'm just getting tired of this," she said, motioning toward the various papers and dusty machines around them. "I'm taking an early lunch."

Neither of her partners said anything as she walked out the door. Maybe she had been a little moody and negative, but she really did feel down. Lackadaisical really. Maybe after taking the time away, she'd be able to find more enthusiasm for their recent assignment. It may not be glamorous, but it was a stepping stone, after all. Completing it well, they'd be on their way up. Maybe there was something cool enough to get enthused about in all those experiments as well.

She'd been trying to psych herself up, but the sight of the man down the hall was enough that she felt real enthusiasm without even trying. Even so, she kept her steady pace, coolly walking toward him. Since he was with his field partner, he might be busy. He nodded toward her with a smile, acknowledging her, the silence giving the implication it wasn't a good time to talk. Just passing each other by seemed disappointing, so right as they were about to go on their own way, Jessie shouted out, "Hey!"

The pair turned around. Jessie might normally be annoyed by the other's presence, but her attention was currently monopolized by the one she was interested in. "You're going out with me tomorrow afternoon, got it? I'll decide where this time. Be ready."

It might seem domineering to some, but he just smiled in response. "Sure. Come get me whenever," he said before turning around.

Jessie realized she was also smiling only once she noticed Cassidy's scowl. They briefly met eyes before she turned around too. The expression was contagious, but Jessie actively tried to shake off the momentary bad feeling. So her love interest happened to work with someone very annoying. It didn't matter when Jessie was alone with him. Her rival's opinion didn't matter at all either. Butch had just happily accepted her invitation and Cassidy hadn't said a thing, because it didn't involve her.

It only involved Jessie, and Butch. Jessie tried to forget about any interlopers, the least of which was Cassidy at least on the particular day, and just think about what might happen the very next day. The thoughts were enough that she did perk up, even enough to be in a good mood for the afternoon drudgery. "Did something happen?" James asked upon noting the positive change in her mood.

Not yet, at least not really. But who knew what might.