four: something else
"Wow."
Butch stared at Jessie, who had just gone to find him back in his current dorm. She was in a fabulous dress, maybe a little low cut, so of course he couldn't help staring at her. "You have something nice to wear too, don't you?" Jessie asked. "You must know I'm not dressed like this for the usual Team Rocket fare."
"Um, yeah. Give me a few minutes. I'll meet you in the lobby."
Ugh, there. Jessie bit her lip.
"Maybe outside around the corner," Butch said, realizing his mistake.
Jessie left, despite not wanting to wait at all. Of course, she hadn't told him how to be prepared, just to be ready for her. She went out the back, avoiding others she might not want to see, and waiting in the designated spot. It took longer than preferred, but when she saw him in his suit, she was too happy about being about to get started to care. "Where to?" Butch asked, grasping her hand. "Hope nowhere too fancy on my account."
"Just the theater," Jessie said. "There's a show."
He raised his eyebrows. "Didn't know you liked that kind of thing."
"Maybe it was just something to do," Jessie said. "Why? Do you like it?"
"Never been," Butch admitted. "Maybe I will. I can't really imagine not enjoying anywhere with you."
As he squeezed her hand and smiled her way, Jessie blushed, but then turned her head to cover up the less than refined reaction. "Let's hurry up and go then."
Once they had made their way along the too complicated road out of the secret headquarters, into Viridian and finally to their destination, Jessie sighed as they found their seats. "What's it about?" Butch asked.
She didn't actually know. The tickets had just been a cheap deal. Maybe coming there hadn't been a good idea after all, since the setting wasn't conducive to them paying too much attention to each other. Admitting that would make her seem thoughtless. But maybe the goal had just been to visit the show with someone she liked and see this kind of thing in action, even not having known what the specific show might be about. "I wanted to act in something like this, you know," Jessie decided to share instead of addressing the question.
"Are you into that kind of thing? Oh, wait," Butch interjected before she could answer as they sat down on their seats. "Of course you are. That motto is your and James's thing. Is it even yours more than his? But yeah, you like performing, huh?"
Seemed he understood some without being told. Jessie shrugged. "Even though I wanted to do something like that, that's something in my past," she decided to say. "Announcing ourselves as Team Rocket is a different thing. Maybe trying to be an actress did prepare me to do that much with style, but I don't need to think about it now."
"Really? You don't think you can now?"
"What about you?" Feeling some irritation, Jessie tried to get the focus off of herself and the painful yet very real idea that she might be holding onto hopes regarding that. "You also have a motto! Stolen and bastardized maybe, but you do too! Did you also have some failed aspirations of being an actor?"
"Not at all," Butch said before Jessie could correct that she'd admitted her own failures with the 'also'. "Never did anything like that before. Never even thought about it, really. Cassidy wanted to do the motto thing, so I went along with it. Turned out to be fun, but I'm not sure I could get on stage like these people are about to. What about you?"
Jessie was silent, looking around the rapidly filling room. "I had a few minor parts, actually."
"Bet you were great," Butch said, squeezing her hand, reminding her that she still was hand in hand with him.
Their conversation stopped as the activity began, lights dimming. During the show, she dropped his hand, getting into the story. During one of the more romantic parts, she noted him running a finger down her shoulder, exchanging smiles with her as they watched. During another, he reached for her again, and she initiated a brief kiss before turning their attention back to the production. The story wasn't that great and some of the acting was lacking. One of the pokemon involved just wandered off instead of playing its part, followed by some stiff ad libbing barely covering up the blunder. But Butch was right in that the company could make it enjoyable.
All of his attention made Jessie somewhat more confident in her choice for the second part of their date. She'd been more than apprehensive about it actually, leaving herself open to skipping that option all together by not telling him it was part of her plan. He didn't need to know how much she wanted this. Maybe she didn't even want it at all, actually.
As the play ended, and everyone started filing out, her confidence waved, the previous decidedness fading with the thought of actually following through. Jessie felt her heart starting to beat fast. "You okay?" Butch asked. As she nodded, he looked around the area. "Everyone's leaving. Was there something else you wanted to do?" As Jessie got ready to vehemently deny her plans, Butch looked toward the stage. "Looks like the cast is open to meeting the fans. We're going there, I guess?"
Jessie followed his gaze, seeing the actors they'd seen enthusiastically talking to others with the performing pokemon by their side. So that was what he'd meant. "No," she denied, standing up. "There's no reason to stick around here. I had somewhere else I wanted to go with you."
"Sure, let's go," Butch said casually, linking arms with her as they made their way out of the fancier building. She walked slowly, carefully observing his reactions. He glanced toward her frequently as they walked along the streets of Viridian, his expression just as blissful as before. It was only when they stopped in front of Jessie's chosen destination that his warm demeanor seemed to cool.
He stared up at the hotel sign wordlessly glancing back at Jessie questioningly. "What?" she said. "You said before you were fine with anywhere we might go." Her tone turned harsh, though that was just to try and hide how very disappointed she was that he wasn't showing any excitement about her chosen destination. If he were going to turn her down, she'd let him know just how uninterested she was in the first place.
"Hey," Butch began, meeting her eyes as he gripped her hand tightly. His expression was unreadable, almost seeming sad, though also forcing a smile, overall seeming to try and reassure her. "Here? You know, it's fine... I'm not expecting anything from you. Don't think you have to do anything you don't want."
"Are you even going to ask me what I want?" Jessie asked, raising her voice. She glanced around, seeing others walking by in the yellow streetlight, supposing she might make a scene by expressing herself too much. She blinked back any evidence of tears and scowled as she decided to let it out anyway. "I'm tired of being interrupted and hearing rumors. I'm completely sick of things like your stuck-up field partner glaring at me when I want to talk to you. And then there's James sharing his stupid unwanted opinions about you-"
"James has been saying stuff?" Butch asked.
Jessie groaned. "Forget it. It's nothing, at least nowhere near as bad as everything your passive-aggressive cousin been bombarding me with."
He really did frown now, looking away as his grip on her hand loosened. "Oh yeah. Her." They both quieted a moment. "So you're done with me from what she said?"
"No!" Jessie shouted. He wasn't getting the message at all. "As if I'm listening to her at all! I'm just tired of her and everyone else getting in the way! I want you all alone and all to myself, without anyone or anything around to interfere."
There it was, out in the open. As soon as it had been spoken, Jessie felt truly vulnerable. It was almost like she was a kid again. Back when she was younger, a teenager and even slightly older, rejected after putting herself out there like this to someone she'd given a special place in her heart, she'd completely dissociated and pretended it didn't matter. But now, if he denied her this, she really might get upset. She tensed up, maybe even shaking as she considered the possibilities. Why had she put herself in this kind of situation again? She'd really liked him and thought she'd seen all the signs he might like her in return, but had she just fooled herself?
Eventually, she relaxed as he squeezed her hand. "Hey," he said, and she met his gaze again, that dreamy expression back on his face. "You've got me. Let's go."
The inside of the hotel room wasn't fancy at all, and certainly didn't fit their overdressed appearances. Was this really where she wanted to be? A bed, small desk, some complimentary toiletries outside a bathroom. The bed was the only place to relax, and where they ended up sitting, eventually laying down in a lull.
Butch stared at her resting face, thinking how he really had seemed to have truly upset this woman just before. Jessie seemed abrasive in general sometimes, but so did he, and didn't really judge her too much for it. That didn't mean her reaction before they'd come in was just something typical of her. That kind of thing had been different than Jessie's usual sort of standoffishness. But now she'd calmed. Did Jessie want him in here, just next to her like this? Giving that much was almost too simple. Besides, he wanted to be with her too.
Reaching over, he lightly brushed a hair away from her face. She opened her eyes, taking his hand before he pulled it away completely. "It's been a long day, huh?" he commented. They'd worked before leaving on their date. She probably had more than him. Did Jessie just want his company here? He truly wasn't expecting anything, though the idea of what she might want to do, having him alone and 'all to herself' was exciting. No matter what it was, he was sure he'd enjoy it. He was hers, at least for the moment.
"Come closer," Jessie ordered, then kissed him as he did. He kissed her in return, running his hand down her back. She sat up in bed, "It's too stuffy in here like this," she said, sweeping her hair off her back and in front of her before staring toward him. "Are you going to help?" she asked.
He pulled down her zipper without hesitation, or at least not outward hesitation. After he did, she didn't take off the dress right away, instead moved forward toward him. She pushed his jacket down over his shoulders, prompting him to take it off, then loosened his tie. He got the message, removing his shirt as Jessie stood up, slipping her dress off and kicking it to the side. From there, things got awkward, and Butch looked to the side. "Come here," Jessie said, breaking the lull. In her partially undressed state, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him again.
When it finished, she still kept her arms around him, her face flushed. Their eyes locked before she glanced back to the bed. "Come on," she ordered, her hand slipping down before she eventually pulled away.
He wasn't going to disappoint her, and moved right away, getting into bed with her. When she joined him, so close, right next to him, this time he took the initiative in kissing her. She briefly vocalized, seeming pleased but at the same time surprised at his actions. After pausing and locking eyes with her to see if it was something she might want, he moved his hand over her bra, and the sound she made lasted longer this time. From her expression, and how she pushed closer to him, he could tell she was far from displeased, so he kept touching her various places.
"Hey," Jessie eventually interrupted him, her voice quiet. "You're probably ready, aren't you?" she said.
He was, of course. His pants were starting to feel uncomfortable. He just didn't assume they were going to go that far. She could just want his company and closeness, not necessarily to actually go further, though what she had just said implied she did want to go all the way. Even so- "I don't have any protection," Butch admitted aloud.
Jessie moved away from him, momentarily disappointing, but she wasn't about to leave him, was she? Instead she went to where she'd dropped her purse, picking it up, taking out a box of condoms and placing it purposefully on the side table.
"Huh." Butch sat up. He couldn't really misunderstand her purpose in bringing him here. The thought was accompanied by a wave of desire, adding to what he'd already felt. But of course, he also had plenty of hesitations here, ideas in his head how this didn't seem right, and how accepting her proposition would lead to disaster.
"What?" Jessie said, her eyes narrowing as she pouted, observing him intently, seeming to be gauging his reaction.
He smirked, briefly chortled as he looked from the large box to her and back again. "How many times did you want to go?" he asked.
Her discontented expression broke, her smiling in response to his question. "How many times will you be up for it?" she asked, some humor returning to her voice.
Butch moved over, making room for her to join him in bed again. There was no way he'd say no. This just wasn't like any situation he'd been in before. Jessie had enjoyed his company as sort of friends before they'd gotten time alone together. She enjoyed his attraction toward her, showing plenty of signs that she was attracted to him in return. She'd also shown signs she liked him as a person, and wanted him specifically to be in this kind of situation with her. And if he rejected her, there wouldn't just be frustration or annoyance, but genuine hurt at the idea that someone she wanted didn't want her in return.
And it wasn't like he didn't really, really want to either. He'd been actively deciding to push away any sexual thoughts regarding Jessie that came to mind, even when they started dating, with varied success. Even when she wanted to bring him here, obviously with such thoughts in mind, he kept telling himself not to expect anything. And here this gorgeous woman was, expecting things in his place.
She could have him, certainly. Jessie paused slightly in front of the bed, indicating her apprehension, though otherwise seeming very bold as she joined him, her expression indicating confidence in her decision. He kissed her again, not wasting much time before he removed her underwear after her prompting. Her confidence seemed to waver from there, so he touched her bare skin before she could think about things too much. As she seemed to relax, he took off the rest of his clothing. She subtly blushed at the sight of his completely naked body, her eyes resting a little too long on the visual indicator that he certainly was 'ready'.
He pulled her close before she had to look at him too long. Their naked forms pressed close together seemed to increase her desire, and she soon reached for the box next to them, taking out the item to initiate taking things further. They had sex, a little less than gently, but that's how she wanted it. He knew he'd enjoy it, but she did too, and that was what was important. Butch only pulled Jessie closer as they had both finished. But this really wasn't the end, was it?
He fell asleep next to her, only to wake up in a panic. The basic hint of sunlight was peeking through the partially opened curtain, revealing Jessie still curled up in the bed right by him. A blissful expression adorned her sleeping face, and Butch smiled in return. No, they weren't done. He'd pleased her, and she wanted him. They'd continue things from here, wouldn't they? He lay back down, calming before he fell asleep, ready to get a little more rest next to the person he wanted to be with.
When he woke up next, the thought that they should really get moving came to mind. Jessie was sprawled next to him, perhaps asleep. She grabbed his arm as he got up to get dressed. He lay back down, facing her. "Didn't know you were awake," he said.
"Maybe I'm not," Jessie said. He smirked, but didn't otherwise respond, just enjoying being right next to her. "Where were you going, anyway? Thinking of just running off?"
"From you? Never. We'd both be going to the same place, anyway," he noted with some amusement.
"We don't have to go right away, do we?" Jessie asked, still gripping his arm, though loosely so.
"We're both supposed to be doing various things today, right?" Butch pointed out.
Jessie pouted, staring at him with a pointed expression from across the sheets, still making no move to pull herself upright. "How about if I say we don't have to go until I decide I'm ready?" she said.
"Sure. I'll stay as long as you want," Butch said.
Jessie took Butch's invitation to dictate what might happen next without considering the consequences. But she couldn't really relax. Eventually she rolled over, considering what would happen if they skirted their responsibilities. "You're not worried about being late?" she asked.
"Not if there's something more important," Butch said, suddenly hovering his face above hers before he leaned down and kissed her again. He was willing enough to continue things from last night, but Jessie had tensed up, the mood lost from thinking of work. Butch got the idea and sat back in the bed. "You know, you don't have to always give up what you want for Team Rocket. You don't have to be in Team Rocket at all. If you don't like it, you could just leave and go for something else. Not like the boss even cares too much when someone does, unless it messes up an operation. You're pretty replaceable at the moment, so probably nothing would happen."
Jessie felt a mixture of bemusement at the idea and annoyance that he'd spoken it. She had been recently considering how boring and unfulfilling, both financially and otherwise, her current role in Team Rocket was. And of course, him talking about her diminished role was often to talk down to her because of their rivalry. But their relationship had changed, and at the moment that sort of antagonism didn't seem at all to be the purpose of what he said. "You're sure serious about all of this. Were you going to quit or something?" Jessie asked.
"Thought about it, but no," Butch said. He swept the hair out of her eyes. "Maybe I could be convinced, depending on who's trying to convince me. The right person could convince me to do just about anything."
He cuddled close to her, his mocking expression seeming to tease. Jessie just grinned in response. "Alright. Right now I'm going to say it's time for us to be ready. James and Meowth might start to worry if I don't show up soon."
They got out of bed, getting dressed. Butch had to wear his suit, but Jessie had come prepared. After she'd put on her uniform, Jessie couldn't help but notice Butch's good mood had shifted, his expression blank before he frowned, staring into space as she took a turn in front of the mirror. "Do you hate the idea of work that much?" she asked as she took out the brush, starting to style her hair. "You're the one that seemed in a hurry to get back before."
"No, no. I'd rather stay with you, but it's fine," Butch assured. After a moment's silence, he spoke again. "Are you and James close?"
Jessie stopped brushing her hair a moment. So that was what he'd been thinking about. "Obviously," she replied after processing the question. There was no need to hide it. "Though we've never gotten as close as you and I just did," she said. Butch hadn't acted too jealous or possessive or anything irritating like that, but hopefully that assertion would ease his mind. "You're thinking about your partner's reaction too, right?" Jessie turned to Butch, about to assert that Cassidy would certainly be more obnoxious than James about things, only to see him looking away, furrowing his brow over his surprised expression. Was the mention of his field partner inciting some kind of guilt? "Oh, no..." Jessie muttered. "Are you and Cassidy that close?"
"No," Butch denied, though he still looked guilty. "I mean... Not anymore..." He clenched his jaw, putting a hand to his head. "Ugh, this is gonna bug you, isn't it?"
Jessie slowly and purposefully put down her brush. Hypocritically enough, she was definitely starting to get a strong feeling of the immature jealousy she'd just judged him for possibly having. She was getting ideas about being possessive of him as well... Jessie wasn't petty or controlling enough to want to prevent her rival from working together with him, as they had been, or them talking to each other...
Or at least, maybe she hadn't been before. In the moment, the idea of the person she'd been intimate with being intimate with Cassidy of all people had Jessie thinking of screaming at the other woman to stay away and never so much as look at him again. Cassidy may brag about winning various assignments and accolades, but wasn't about to also get the person Jessie had gotten attached to. There was no way Jessie was about to share with anyone at all, much less that haughty, obnoxious person. Various combinations of words that might be screamed at Cassidy came to mind.
Of course, such an outburst would only look bad. It also wouldn't cultivate a very healthy relationship. That kind of possessiveness would certainly make Jessie bitter. It would show she didn't trust her current love interest, and she really did. When Jessie had asked before, Butch had said he wasn't currently involved with anyone, so he wasn't. There was also the fact that Jessie and Butch had flirted and even openly discussed their outings in front of his field partner before. Though the interactions were brief, if Butch and Cassidy were actually together, Cassidy's reaction would have been far more dramatic than just the normal baseline sourness. Instead, there hadn't even been a comment.
No. There was nothing, at least not currently. Everything both seen and heard pointed to that, and besides, Jessie trusted the person she'd chosen to be with. She still took a breath, finally speaking with appropriate calmness after she'd given herself a moment. "What happened?"
"You know. Stuff happens," Butch said.
"I don't know. Nothing like that happened between James and me!" Jessie spoke, unable to hide her irritation this time.
"Yeah. Well, stuff happened with us," Butch muttered, stating the obvious as he stared at the ground. "But it's not like she liked it much. Or me. So don't worry... I mean, there's nothing to even think about there."
The new statement was just a little more information, but still not specific enough for Jessie's liking. "Can you just tell me the whole story?" Jessie frowned. Before things went further, she wanted to know.
He glanced up and away. "Well, I don't care about sharing my side... But everything that happened, that's kind of personal to her too. So, you know, no reason to get too into it."
Of course she didn't want to know every detail. But even so- "Just give me your side then. The summary, as little as possible. We can't be here all day. I just want to know what kind of 'thing' you both really had."
"Yeah. Okay," he agreed, swallowing as he finally met her eyes. "I just... Couldn't read her. When everything was happening, I thought there might be more to us. But there just wasn't. That's just how things are sometimes, you know? How they pretty much always are for me, but I keep fooling myself. I really care about her, but all she wants from me was to be a good co-worker. I know she doesn't hate me or anything. I don't hate her either, but co-worker with benefits is all I ever was to her. It all stopped once I realized that. I've slept in that damn overcrowded group dorm since then. I give her space."
So that was it. Jessie still wasn't happy about the idea of him with her, but she knew he was telling the truth. Admitting as much as he did, even to himself, much less to her, must have been difficult. So there had been some unrequited love there. Jessie could relate to that. And then Cassidy hadn't helped things, feeding into his hopes by sleeping with him. It was usually a guy who pulled stuff like that, but such actions weren't beyond women either. He'd gotten too much into things then, but he'd also apparently known when to back off.
Maybe some childish part of Jessie wanted to hear Butch bash Cassidy and say his new lover was much better in every way. But in reality, the fact he didn't was a good sign. Men who spoke about how terrible their exes were, how wonderful their new partners were in return would often start to find their new lovers to be just as defective soon enough. It seemed Butch hadn't gotten what he wanted from Cassidy, but also recognized her humanity. He'd accepted her feelings and moved on.
Jessie had perhaps been in similar situations. Even thinking about how she might have fooled herself the same as him was painful. Maybe she hadn't handled it nearly as gracefully either.
But that was all in the past. Currently, she was with someone who had shown every sign of returning her feelings. The unworthy who couldn't see her value could be forgotten. Butch should also get over whatever weird thing happened between him and Cassidy as well, even having to work with her still. He probably was long past it already. It was done. "That's it?" Jessie said. "Well, you can forget all about it, can't you? You're wrong, anyway."
"I'm what?" Butch said.
Jessie folded her arms and looked to the side. "That's not how things always are for you. Or it doesn't have to be. Because maybe I want more for us."
Butch suddenly embraced her with that statement. Jessie's eyes widened, feeling him tremble. Her body felt warm as Butch broke away and made eye contact. "I want more too," he asserted. "A lot more."
Hadn't she said 'maybe'? Jessie decided not to correct him. It wasn't just a maybe. Their connection seemed to be more than that already. Maybe even this kind of passionate declaration was part of what she wanted. She wanted that physical intimacy, but that wasn't all, unlike with Cassidy, who certainly also had to know Butch had found someone that was more serious about him. "We don't even have to talk about her anymore," Jessie declared.
"No. I'd rather talk about you. About us too, maybe."
She'd be happy to do that as well.
"Wobbuffet!"
As Jessie entered their current work area and spoke a greeting, Wobbuffet immediately released itself from its pokeball and called out to her, holding out its arms as if for a hug. "Don't look at me like that," Jessie said with some annoyance. "I wasn't about to chance you messing things up for me. You know how you love to butt in."
James also seemed ready to try and guilt her, a pained-looking expression on his face. "Jessie, you didn't come back all night," he said with some concern.
"I told you I might not," Jessie groused, looking toward whatever science project they had taken out.
"Did you even get any sleep?" James asked.
"Come on, James..." Meowth grinned slyly from its spot on the counter, waving a paw dismissively. "Don't you get it? Her not coming back means things were going great for her with that guy."
"Is that true?" James asked.
"Maybe," Jessie said, trying not to seem overly enthusiastic as she picked up a paper. "I might even already have plans to go out with him again. Maybe you shouldn't be worried too much."
"That's great, Jess!" Meowth cheered. "Finally, one of us is successful in love!" Jessie couldn't hide her smile before Meowth spoke again. "Now, you've gotta tell us every detail!"
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet agreed.
"How about not!" Jessie shouted. "We'll get to work, how about that?"
"Wobbuffet," Wobbuffet agreed.
Meowth looked disappointed, but also went along with her declaration. Though it had been her idea, Jessie's mind traveled back to the previous day, as well as about her beau in general. The current tasks were boring. Was leaving Team Rocket really an option? What else would she do? What about her connections, including the two there in the room with her? Jessie eventually pushed the idea out of her mind, listening to James describe the mundane task that had been given to them. How boring, but maybe there was something different in store for the future.