Hello :P It is Wednesday and I am back with a new chapter. This one is a little bit different actually and I wrote it at the end of last year. It's set during a time that's earlier than the frame I normally write more in and takes please when Jessie and James quit Team Rocket and they move in with Delia and Ash. Needless to say, that results in a lot of changes and confrontations too! As does James and Misty's friendship - or perhaps more than friendship. I hope you enjoy :3

Ages:

Gary: 19

James: 25

Misty: 18

Noah: 72

Disclaimer: I own the story and the OCs mentioned!

I shared the same suspicious eye narrow as the auburn haired Pokémon Researcher as the orange haired female and the lavender came in through the door of Delia's household, making quite a racket. Now I'm sure that you are aware that I would never usually have such a sceptical case when it came to the female of the two and that is true. But she and her lavender haired best friend had taken off quite abruptly and despite the fact that they could be heard snickering as they shut the front door behind them, she had still worried me so.

So for that reason, though I shared the same eye narrowing look as Gary Oak, my concerns were far softer and it felt to me - sincere. I remained on his shoulder and lurking around the door of the kitchen, the spiky haired male waiting to reveal himself. For the time being he listened out on any words exchanged by the Water Pokémon enthusiast and the newly ex-rocketeer. I did as well.

"Whoa! Watch yourself there, honey." James said with a smirk when as soon as Misty tried to hurriedly tug him further on into Delia's house with her shoes still on, she skidded on the wooden floor! Her mud laced trainers made quite a squeaking noise on the floor below and she risked taking quite the tumble. Luckily (arguably), the lavender haired male hadn't let go of her hand since entering the household with her and so he was able to stop her falling. He squeezed her hand as he steadied her. "I knew even if I quit the old rocket life you'd still be falling for me."

Surprising us both, it was Gary who inhaled more upon hearing this. I turned to look back at him. However, before I could feel his ever-growing suspicious gaze on my own face, I looked back to the conversing duo at the same time that Misty just burst into laughter. And her chuckles were definitely towards the older male!

Misty raised an eyebrow before smirking, tugging her hand out of his after steadying herself by herself and lightly flicking him right on the forehead instead. She effortlessly turned over her shoulder to look at him, reaching up to push her bangs from her eyes.

"You've said a lot of crap in your life, Jimmy, but that's definitely up there." She retorted and you would think that someone as sensitive as the lavender haired male would grow wounded upon hearing this but it was the complete opposite in fact. Without a moment of hesitation he broke into a grin himself, both his eyebrows rising as if he enjoyed being put in his place. So for this reason, the younger female continued. "Your words may be up high in their ridiculousness but you'll always be beneath when I'm around."

It was then my turn to inhale but that time it was out of pride that Misty wasn't letting James go too high and mighty. It was a well-known fact that he had done better for himself in recent years and with a business with his wife taking off and lots of people looking in their directions. But it was rather soothing and reassuring to know that the orange haired female would always be there to humble him! However, that satisfaction had its edge taken from it with the way that he enjoyed the jokingly harsh words as well.

After slightly tugging his dark wash jeans upwards so he could take his boots off properly and he kicked them neatly to the one side with his other foot, he didn't refrain from continuing his interactions with the younger female while she looked down on him. Although he still had a glint in his eye, the amusement stopped being on his face.

With a mocking yet graceful wave of the hand he pretended to hail her before he then joined her by her side, going down on his knees. He acted out pleadingly holding onto her arm as he did so. Gary's eyebrow raises grew all the more and he stopped caring about whether or not he was going to get caught spying on the other people in the household.

"Oh yes, I am so beneath you so will you let me pave my way in this cruel world by letting me take off your shoes?" he jokingly grovelled and at first his words were too mocking so Misty almost narrowed her eyes at him for real and used those shoes of hers to boot him in the face! Even so, before any of that could happen, he added, the smirk returning on his face as well as his eyes. He also did that teasing hand hail once again and it filled Misty with amusement, I could tell. "Your majesty."

"Oh, go on then." The orange haired female surprised me by promptly replying and her hands went back to sort her hair as she rested one of her feet on a chair that happened to find itself from the dining room to the hallway. She literally did look down on James as he narrowed his eyes back but did indeed proceed with untying her laces for her and taking the first of her shoes off. Misty then spoke more words to him, her hand light-heartedly resting on the top of his head. "You are the reason they've got in this state after all."

I could feel my eyes travelling further to the "state" of Misty's shoes while Gary's eyes were firmly fixed on darting between them both. They weren't exactly muddy or messy but they were definitely more scuffed than usual. It put that suspicion back in my heart once more.

It wasn't usual for those two to go scampering off together but paired with a lingering (and sometimes growing) distrust for the male ex-rocketeer and the auburn haired Pokémon Researcher's watchful eye also, I couldn't help but wonder what on earth was so important for them to rush off the way they had. And in addition to this, I wondered where they had been to get so dishevelled. I liked to think that I would have been invited to have a particular kind of youthful fun.

"Yeah well you feel better now, don't you?" the lavender haired male looked up at the younger female in the middle of swapping her legs so it was her left on the chair instead before he proceeded on taking that shoe off for her as well. His mischief had died down once again. In its place I could see almost a secret language between them.

That caused me some disheartening. I knew that things were going to change when we all moved into the Ketchum residence together but I hadn't realised that those two would end up spending quite so much time together.

The back of Gary's throat grunted and it was almost as if he was thinking the same things as I. That snapped me back to reality. Together we both watched as James tossed Misty's shoes along with his for good and he stood back up to his full height, reaching for her hands all over again to help her down from being propped up without tripping.

I watched and I waited for Misty's snarky antics to return and a retort to come and although I saw a sprinkle of that possibility twinkling in her eyes, soon enough it was gone. That surprised me as well. She squeezed the both of the ex-rocketeers hands and although it was done a little uncertainly, she moved her body to lightly rest her head against his chest for just a second as they both prepared to walk to the kitchen together.

"Yeah, I suppose I do." The orange haired female uttered plainly and because it seemed like James wasn't expecting any kind of sincerity in response, he definitely accepted those words from her. Anything was a bonus.

For the first time since we had been watching them, his smirk faded away properly and a soft smile took over his face instead. He leaned his down head down to wordlessly press his cheek against the top of Misty's head. In return she seemed to almost hold her breath. And then two more words tumbled out before she could stop them. "Thank you."

And then the lavender haired male didn't say anything else to her regarding that little moment between them. I was certain that he'd have liked to. But he could tell that that wasn't the most natural thing in the world for her so he left it at that.

He did however wrap his arm around her while still holding just one of her hands so he could properly lead her to the kitchen at last before heading in another direction. And after he did this, and after Misty finally properly pulled away from him and their time together to go and fetch herself a snack, he saw her reaching for the jacket she was wearing in the process. So for that reason, he had just one more thing to say to her. He had another smile for her too.

"Don't bother. Keep it for now. You'll have something of me even when we're apart." The ex-rocketeer told Misty and he was referring to the leather motorbike jacket that she had been wearing of his after their little outing together.

And in response to this, Misty pressed her lips together as if she was going to resist and shook her head like she didn't want it but complied and left it on which proved that she very much did. And out of everything, I found it funny how they acted like it was unbearable when they couldn't continue their antics together. But I soon supposed that being from opposite "teams" and "twerp vs rocket" somehow it always felt that they would be pried away from one and other soon enough.

Nevertheless, before I could ponder on this any further, the orange haired female finally crossed the line from the hallway to the kitchen and in doing so, straight away she spotted both Gary and I lurking there. Needless to say, she had a natural smile and wave for me. But soon enough her expression changed to a frown when she saw the auburn haired male there, his arms over his chest.

"What are you doing there and what are you ogling at? You look like some kind of swamp Pokémon." Misty uttered out of habit with defensiveness to her boyfriend's best friend who some people would describe as arrogant. However, unlike when she was ten years old she didn't add more words to this and headed over to the fridge instead but still gave suspicious glances behind her.

Gary wasn't fazed. He stood further up from leaning against the wall and unfolded his arms. He managed to soften his gaze so he wasn't frowning but both his eyebrows were still raised. He explained to Misty with a dismissive raise of the hand. Even he didn't dare start trouble with her.

"I'm not waiting for you. I'm waiting for him." The spiky haired male responded and his dismissive hand wave changed to a wave of him pointing towards the lavender haired male – wherever he was. Gary did not realise that James had come up next to him. I had. But it was far too late to warn him. My best friend's best friend turned his body a little more so and then was suddenly face to face with who he wanted to speak too. He managed to remain collected, simply looking across at the older male. "I'm waiting for you. I want to talk to you. I want to know where you've been."

James let a silence be the only thing that sounded for a couple of moments. And then when he decided that he was finally ready to speak, taking a step back from Gary so as not to be nose to nose with him, he took a second to crane his head and peek at Misty in the kitchen. But she was gone. She had taken her snack and juice to the living room and to tell you the truth, I thought about joining her. But the spiky haired male had suspicion in his mind and I still had a trace of that so I stayed with him.

Gary persisted, closing the gap between him and the older male once again.

"Where have you been? What was so important that you left your children with my girlfriend aka your oldest kid yet again?" the auburn haired male started to get out the true reason for his annoyance with the ex-rocketeer and he enunciated some of his words to prove a point. But in response, all James did was roll his eyes and crane his head, having a sudden attitude of acting like he didn't have to answer to his daughter's boyfriend of all people. Gary stopped him from dodging him physically as well as the questions. "I mean it, man. Stop slacking off. It's not fair."

Despite the fact that a couple of moments ago, both Gary and James physically saw eye to eye, they most certainly didn't often figuratively see that way. In addition to their being only a small age gap between them and the grandson of Professor Oak dating James' adopted daughter, Jayme, Gary didn't like the way that the lavender haired male had been acting in recent months.

I inwardly found it intriguing how the person who was effortlessly described as the most arrogant of our group when he was ten years old had little to no patience for someone else when they were showing attitude. But that aside, I did agree with Gary.

Along with the success in James' life and children and marriage also came rebellion and insecurity and the occasional hostility. So much had suddenly gone right for him that he almost didn't know what to do. That was never an excuse in Gary's eyes.

The younger of the two male's took a chance by grabbing hold of both of James' shoulders before he could move away for good, planting an unmoving stare right on his face. He asked yet again, leaving no room for nonsense. Gary could be an authoritative figure when he wanted to be.

"What was so important this time?" the auburn haired junior future Professor Oak questioned and I watched from his shoulder as James managed to resist his initial reaction of the urge of annoyance that he was getting hands put on him washed over him. James inhaled. He didn't like that he was being pinned to one spot. He didn't like that he was being given the third degree. But he didn't want to take it out on the younger male after his daughter's name came up and it was obvious that he cared.

So the lavender haired male, although he let out a loud sigh and held onto Gary's wrists to move his hands off his shoulders, he prepared to have an answer for him. He moved away as he prepared to be candid but he did have an answer for him. The answer he had was the truth and he offered that to the younger male as he went over to the fridge himself to get some juice.

"Misty's parents." Was all James offered but it was enough for my best friend's best friend. That could have been surprising but it wasn't really. Misty may have only confided with those closest to her about all the emotions involved in having deceased parents but it was no secret either. And it was certainly no secret that James often went to the graveyard with his best friend for a chat – whether the orange haired female chatted to where her parents lay or she chatted to him. The lavender haired male took a mouthful of juice straight from the carton after getting it from the fridge and he was lowering the box from his mouth when he locked eyes on Gary's face. He added more words, only a slight edge to them. "Is that good enough for you?"

The auburn haired Pokémon Researcher had his own exhalation of breath upon hearing this and I did too. There was really no need for attitude from the older male when Gary (despite the fact that he went about it in an arguably cocky way) had everyone's best interests at heart.

And thankfully because of this, even James could sense it. And after letting out another of his own sighs, he changed his words, lowering the juice cartoon even further and pushing his hair from his eyes.

"I never put the responsibility of my other kids on Jayme, yeah? I never ask. She offered. I accepted." The lavender haired male began and from still being on Gary's shoulder, I glanced to my left and could see in his expression that that simply wasn't good enough for him. And James could gather that also. His hand slid out from his hair and held outwards. I assumed that it was defensiveness. Then I recognised it to be reassuring. He added. "I'm here now. I'm here now and I'm going to be here for them all until my late shift."

"Good." Gary replied promptly and at the same exact time that I made a leap onto the kitchen table. To tell you the truth, I was starting to feel Gary's subtle hostility in my own belly and I didn't like it! I landed gracefully enough. I landed in time to watch the fact that although the auburn haired younger male still had a frown on his face towards the older male, he accepted it when James held out the carton of juice towards him.

That was obviously their momentary truce and putting down of swords towards one and other. Gary held onto the juice carton himself and took his own mouthful. James moved out of the way, resuming pushing his hair from his eyes and playing with his own locks. A couple of moments of silence between the two males passed and then it was the younger of the two to break that.

I could see that he was trying to soften his expression but it just became a habit towards his girlfriend's father. He did, however, switch the carton of juice between both of his hands to bring a touch more of light-heartedness to everything. I was certain that the tension in his own belly probably didn't feel that nice.

"Did Misty talk more to her dad today or her mom?" Gary asked and the lavender haired male listened to the sloshing noise of the remainder of juice in the carton before he answered. And then he did promptly but levelly, pushing the front bits of his hair out of his eyes with one motion of just one of his hands.

"Her Dad." James responded but that was all he said and that was all he was going to say. The lavender haired male simply didn't feel it right to dish out that kind of private and emotional information.

But despite the fact that Gary understood this and related to it also, he couldn't help but tilt his head on one side, holding the juice carton in one hand and reaching the other out to absentmindedly stroke my cheek. And as well as this, he didn't refrain from asking. As soon as he thought of these words, he didn't miss a bit.

"Did she say anything that Ash should know about?" Gary wondered aloud and I wondered inwardly if it was the mention of Misty's boyfriend (and twerp) or the feeling of being ganged up on that caused James to react with a guard up all over again.

He reached out and took the juice back away from Gary and put it back in the fridge, slamming it shut so the milk bottles rattled inside. Because all Gary did was raise his eyebrows all over again, all James could do was frown further. He frowned further and shook his head. Then he took a step closer to the younger male. He didn't do it to be intimidating. He was just getting rather sick of feeling like he was under investigation.

"What is your obsession with questioning me today? Jeez, I'm back home now and I'm about to go and hang out with my kids. So why don't you go hassle Jayme instead of me if you are so concerned about her?" James retaliated in that low level tone of his and that was somehow worse than if he had raised his voice. With the milk bottles still rattling in the fridge, he fixed his gaze on the younger of the males. And it was his turn to finally raise his voice a little bit.

"Jeez, go and be the perfect dad that you are then and I'll see my girlfriend so she knows what it's like to have a dude actually be present in her life." Gary finally retorted and he selected these words perfectly to aggravate the older male and they did exactly this.

But like he did when he was really pissed off, all the lavender haired male did was smirk and shake his head and make a kind of eye contact that could cut glass.

The auburn haired Pokémon Researcher turned on his heel. Gary turned on his heel and was about to leave the room when he remembered just one more thing. He held up his finger to gesture that one thing at the same time that James was resisting holding his own, different finger to him!

A scathing smirk decorated Gary's expression also. He uttered his next words faultlessly, his head tilting and an annoying snicker taking over his face.

"And speaking of guys being present in one's life… I was actually waiting for you because I had something to tell you. Your dear old Pops is outside waiting for you. And I wouldn't blame him if he gave you a right seeing to." Gary uttered and with that, he turned on his heel for good and heading on upstairs but only did that after he'd given James a light pat on the cheek.

The lavender haired male of course flinched and ducked this gesture and it was when the two of us – human and Pokémon – were left alone that he suddenly flinched and ducked at Gary's words. They dawned on him. His… Pops? It couldn't be. It simply couldn't be.

I couldn't laugh when dryness took over James' face and he rushed over to the kitchen window to look out of it and I didn't want to laugh either. That simply would have been evil given everything that I knew about the man that was James' father. He spoke aloud breathlessly to himself.

"My Pops…? Dear god no…" he muttered between a clenched jaw as he believed that his father was outside waiting on him and because that sent a chill down his spine so, he almost couldn't use his eyes to look out of the window. But at the same time that I was starting to make my way across the kitchen table to look out so he didn't have to, James faced up to reality and had a peep. He had a peep outside the window that looked over the corner of the house where his car and motorbike were both parked. James exhaled like he had been holding his breath since the minute he was born. One hand shakily pressed on the wall beside the window as spoke aloud to himself once more, almost to reassurance himself. "It's… My Pop Pop. It's my grandfather, not my father. "

A wave of relief took over James' body so strong that he almost needed to press two hands on the wall to keep upright. But then I watched as almost as soon as that torrent took over, a whole other range of emotions whirlpools instead. The lavender haired male's initial reaction was to frown and for his jaw to clench. He shook his head as he spoke aloud a third time.

"What does he want? Why on earth would he want to speak to me…?" he mumbled and his words were laced with bitterness to conceal his true, vulnerable feelings towards everything. I watched. I listened. I craned my head. But surprising me and to contrast his whispery and hushed tones towards himself, like Gary had done also, James suddenly turned on his heel. It was obvious that James was going to see what Noah wanted. So that meant that I was going with him!

I jumped down from the table and followed the ex-rocketeer as he retraced his steps back towards the front door and I got the feeling that he wished that he had kept the jacket of his that Misty had been wearing at that point. But even so, he didn't act like he had any reservations at all – I merely just guessed and wondered them.

He seemed to not hesitate even though he shook gently as he opened the door handle and intended on heading outside. A large gust of wind greeted him as he stepped on the other side of the door and it tumbled through his hair. His long lavender locks flowed all around him before settling over the one shoulder on the one side.

James didn't bother to correct his tumble of hair. With his hands sliding into his pockets, he walked down the path and turned to that little corner where he parked his vehicles. And even though he had seen his grandfather with his own eyes and out of the window, he couldn't quite believe he was there. But he was. He was there. And when he turned the corner he was most definitely in front of him and for us both to see as I followed James.

There Noah was waiting outside to talk to his only grandson and he happened to be bending over his motorbike, giving it an inspection. I knew from assumption that the lavender haired male was probably wondering how he was going to choose his first sentence towards his authoritative relative but then when he saw him looking over one of his prized possessions, it became obvious to him.

Instinctively and out of (questionable) habit, he grew defensive. He stopped in his tracks. His hands remained in his pockets. This was his greeting towards his grey haired grandfather.

"What are you doing? Come to judge my belongings as well as my life choices?" James initiated and because of the fact the cold of the weather was shooting through his body and it was causing his jaw to clench further, his words came out even harsher than intended. Although it was easy to see that he intended them to cause some threat.

Noah just simply and slowly stood up back to his full height from stooping over the motorbike and he ran a hand through his hair that didn't have a flat cap resting over the top. The corners of his eyes were wrinkled but they had an innocent kind of firmness to them. No doubt did his grandson's words fill him with surprise yet un-surprise in one and in addition to this, his presence and sudden voice both surprised and didn't surprise him also.

The grey haired male sighed, his hand moving away from the hair on his head to massage through the ones on his upper lip. I watched as he shook his head but it was done in the most subtle motions.

"Hello, James. It's nice to see you too." Noah came out with in a tone that was so similar to his only grandson's that it filled my mind and face with confusion over how they had suddenly clashed so. I managed to take my eyes off the older male long enough to see the way that the lavender haired male's chest expanded as he inhaled.

But like how it was with a toddler that knew when to quit, James knew and was almost soothed by his grandfather not engaging in his cautiousness. Similarly to his older relative, he ran a hand through his hair before it massaged his own face, where a moustache didn't lie and soft skin did instead.

James breathed out his nose and his lips pressed together before he said more words.

"What are you doing here?" he asked simply and in the same way that Noah's indifference calmed him whether he admitted it or not, his presence started to encourage the appearance of a James that was closer to the one that I had always known. He couldn't stop his eyes changing with concern. His head tilted just a fraction. "Is Nanny okay? It's not Nanny is it?"

Despite the fact that I was aware of the complications between the two of them and could secretly be closer on Noah's side of the fence than James', I found my mouth quirking up just a little at James' words then. I had always known him as a Nanny's boy. And it brought an unobvious kind of peace within me when his love for her was proven all over.

However, James' words had a profoundly opposite effect on Noah when it came to him. He seemed to grow more wrinkles on the corners of his eyes and his dark green orbs had a haziness of sadness take over them. And it was in this moment that I understood that it was so painful for the grandfather to see so much of his grandson that had always been there but feel a completely different person standing in front of him at the same time.

He had been overjoyed by James' recent successes. But he had been horrified by James' recent mistakes and misjudgements as well. The two of them hadn't seen each other in quite some time due to the decision of the older male. But it was obvious that he still cared. After all, why would he have come to pay him a visit?

Noah would soon enough make his intentions clear. He let out a sigh as if he was trying to exhale his visible sadness away and his hand went back to run through his greying locks. He explained. His eyes locked onto his grandson and yet flickered all in one and it made James feel very magnified.

"I came… to see how you are. And I came to see…" the moustache adorned older male begun to have answers for the younger ones but the sound of his previously beloved relatives voice and his watchful gaze caused his neck to begin to flush and his defensive nature to come back out. James finished off for his grandfather, taking a single step forward.

"You came to see if I'm still the same? If I'm still making mistakes? I'll let you be the judge of that and I'm sure you'll get high and mighty on me." James retorted and after taking that single step, he took more to go over to his beloved motorbike and reach to stroke the leather of the seat, almost protecting it from the prior inspection of his grandfather.

His grandfather groaned, he didn't bother to hide it. Noah also turned around to watch James as he begun to look over his motorbike, fiddling with bits of the dials here and poking bits of the handlebars there. The older male shook his head. First and foremost, he addressed the younger male's hostility. And he did so with such calm authority that I was certain that it wasn't going to go down well.

"Yes, I will be the judge of that because I know how to spot carelessness and most importantly stop it before it's too late." Noah spoke and then paused and James looked up at the same time that he paused. The older, grey haired male refrained from sighing but he didn't refrain from shaking his head. He gestured loosely with his hands as he continued. "I was just hoping that I'd see something… different. But I guess you can't guide someone who doesn't want to be guided."

"I'm sorry." James retorted while looking up and he seemed to look up even further though he had been looking at the face of his grandfather the entire time. And I watched as – of course – he didn't seem very sorry. He didn't seem very sorry at all. His words floated out of him almost as if he had rehearsed for the two of them to have a small confrontation. "I am who I am. I feel how I feel. I've never been perfect and I've never pretended or tried to be. But I least I don't look down on those who are struggling to keep everything together after being used to everything going wrong for so many years. At least I don't look down on no one."

I had to look away. I had to look down at the leaves that were blowing across the pathway and I had to swallow as well. I felt almost hesitant to do so but I suddenly felt sorry for James. It was true that he acted out and acted wrongly and probably didn't deserve the second chances he received at times. But no one was ever the villain of their own story. Everyone was always up against forces or things that made them feel small. That was what made people human.

Noah's shoulders moved as though he was sighing but he didn't make a sound. His own eyes wandered downwards. But then they travelled back over to his grandson. He took a chance by moving closer and he moved his hand next to James' where it rested on the seat of his motorbike. The moustache adorned male intended on trying again.

"I don't look down on no one either, James. I don't look down on anybody. I just wish that you-" Noah tried to express himself but because of the infliction of his parents over the years, the lavender haired male was extremely hesitant for people to wish for things when it came to him. Because in his experience they usually wished for him to be a completely different person and that was so very disheartening.

So it surprised me yet didn't surprise me at all when the lavender haired male snapped. He didn't snap viciously or horrendously but he snapped emotionally. His neck clicked towards his grandfather and as soon as Noah's hand tried to make a grab for his, James tugged it away and he removed his body from him also. He shook his head at him, looking at him with tears pricking his eyes.

"Just don't bother, Pops, just don't bother. I know that I've messed up, okay? I know that I've messed up. Don't you think that I regret all the things that I've done to hurt people and sabotage everything that I've had? Don't you think that we're alike in the sense that I look down on my own mistakes as well?" James started to come out with and he wasn't done there. I worried that I was going to give myself a neck injury with the way that I had to look between the pain on Noah's face as he listened and the outburst on James as he spoke. His neck flushed all the more as he continued. "Don't you think that I feel helpless over the fact that sometimes all of my wrong doings feel like a fucking freight train that I don't know how to stop but I don't know how to stop it because at one point in my life I didn't have anybody to let down?"

It all came pouring out and at that point in my life it was hard to hear. I knew that despite having a privileged upbringing James didn't have an easy ride of it and it was quite heart-breaking that even though Team Rocket was something that he had escaped from and that was good, the villain life was almost all he'd ever known and redemption wasn't easy for him at all.

Noah knew that he was going to have a difficult conversation with James when he came to see him after a couple of months but he thought that it was going to be challenging to come up against his grandson's defensiveness and try to break down his walls. He had no idea that he was going to utterly crumple.

The grey haired moustache adorned male acted on instinct. Even though his only grandson had tugged his hand away from him before, Noah felt as though he just had to keep on trying. His moustache twitched as he roughly swallowed, his eyes pooling with so many things as he absorbed the words he was hearing.

"James…" Noah tried to start again and after his hand touch was rejected all over, he tried to reach and touch his cheek instead. The lavender haired male wasn't having any of it. He wasn't having any of it because he didn't know how to handle his grandfather's expression of wanting to listen after he had removed himself from his life all those months ago.

"No… No! You have no idea what it's like… You simply have no idea what it's like." James shook his head and his nostrils bubbled with tears and his eyes spurted with them also and he gulped like he was trying to spit hate but he just couldn't. To tell you the truth, he didn't blame Noah. But he still felt abandoned nevertheless. The lavender haired male's eyes shook with a strange childlike quality before he broke down even more. "You don't know what it's like to feel rejected by your own parents and then once again by the person who was more like a dad to you than anyone!"

And then upon hearing that, Noah knew that it was pointless whispering out his grandson's name out of sadness even though he very much wanted to – to release the pain that he was feeling of James' emotions and display bubbling up in his own heart.

I had to take a step back and I swallowed roughly but I was unaffected by that whole thing. It was almost like I was hearing a fact. I guessed it was because I sensed that James had felt that way when Noah turned a blind eye to him that time ago and it wasn't a surprise to me really. I had a feeling that I would feel it along with my own emotions later in the day. But for the time being I was steady. I watched. And I watched what Noah did next.

Though it was understandable that Noah was exasperated by his grandson's attitude and frustrations and defensiveness and carelessness and plain old mistakes. Though it was understandable and perhaps very healthy that he took a step back – especially when the realisation of his criminal past crept up on him oddly when he'd quit the organisation.

Though it was understandable that Noah walked away when he did. It didn't stop anyone from understanding how it felt from James' position. It felt horrible to push the people like parents to him away because of his wrongdoings and even though he felt like he couldn't stop, he very much wanted to.

He very much wanted to be a man that made not only his grandfather proud but everyone too. He wanted to be a strong and stable provider. He wanted to be a loving and loyal husband. He wanted to be a fun and supportive father. He wanted to be the loveliest friend. He wanted to be the best, best friend in the entire world.

He wanted it all. He wanted too much. And that was a far cry from the lack of dreams and responsibility in his life when he was just travelling around the regions and trying to catch me.

If he forgot what he wanted for just a second perhaps he would figure out what he needed. He needed someone that wouldn't give up on him. And that person needed to be himself. But while he got all of that together for himself, whether it was right or wrong, he needed other people to do that for him.

And thankfully for him, Noah was the absolute epitome of right and wrong. And though he of course didn't agree with half the things that James got up to or came out of his mouth or was associated with his past, he very much gave help to someone who asked for it. And the lavender haired male had done exactly that in his own way.

So the moustache adorned male uttered his grandson's name just one last time. And then he reached out to him just one last time too.

"James…" Noah breathed out and that was the only single word that he expressed. He reached out to his only grandson all over again and after his fingers outstretched and slowly touched his taut cheek, James crumbled all over. But he crumbled in almost the best way. He crumbled into his grandfather's arms and he was held. He was held by Noah and the two didn't say a single word after that.

Despite the fact that Noah did have worry in his heart when it came to his grandson – he just wanted him to be a good man but worried that that couldn't be possible with the decisions he had made. Despite all of this, when Noah held James so close and so tight like he had done when he was just a little boy, a bit of that worry melted away.

Because not everything happened to come down to right and wrong, even though it was very much the pillar of many morals of Noah. Not everything had to fit into the spectrum of good and bad. Sometimes things simply happened and even though they shouldn't have done – they just did.

It was true that blood was thicker than water. Though that didn't mean you act how you simply wanted without any consequence, it did mean that you could make mistakes especially if you owned up to them.

And that day and during that interaction was the first time that James admitted that, like his grandfather, he didn't always like his decisions either. So for that, Noah felt like he could be a bit more present than he had been before. And because of that, he was able to move forward. They both were. In fact, we all were.

James would continue to make many mistakes after that though, of course. He would make many, many! And I would as well. And Noah would too. But one thing we all shared in common and I'm content to say that our entire group did – and that was owning up to things.

In our group we owned up to mistakes. We owned up to victories. And we owned up to learning curves. That was how we grew. That was how we developed. James Morgan's story was a little bit of a rocky one. But an interesting one nevertheless.

But like his Nanny expressed many, many years ago and for me and Ash and all of our friends to hear – he was the same old sweetheart no matter who he did or didn't associate himself with. And as for his feelings of rejection, those inclinations would fade away in time.

And addition to this, he would someday be welcomed by those who didn't find it the easiest thing in the world to take him for who he was. As long as he saw the similarities in them rather than differences. And as long as he never gave up on himself either.

The End.

There you go! Thanks so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed :3 So yeah, this one tackles on a lot of subjects, really. Gary's disapproval of James' behaviour and protectiveness. Jayme stepping up and Gary thinking she's been cornered into it. And of course James struggling with his new-found success. He definitely has a couple of years where everything is reckless and confusing for him. Thankfully he pulls himself out of that and becomes the James I know and love to write about! Thanks to people like Noah who don't truly step away from him, even if he takes a step back. And Misty who sees through that front. I reckon James feels like she actually does love him for him. Something that continues even after they both grow together, along with the other characters too :3 Thanks again for reading and I will be back next Wednesday again with another chapter so see you then!

AmyBieberKetchum signing out :P