A/N: I wanted to give this one last read-through before I posted it, but I've been so busy lately that I just have not had the time. I knew that if I didn't post it today it was in danger of never getting posted because I'm practically snowed under with work at the moment. As a result of this, it's not exactly where I wanted it to be, but it'll have to do. It's mine for better, for worse.

The idea for this stemmed from Jessie's final lines in the thirteenth Pokémon movie. Can't remember it offhand, but it was something about it being good not to know the future, so I took it and made this.

Disclaimer: Pokémon isn't mine.

Seeing is Believing

It started out as another typical day for the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth. Through some miracle, the previous night they had stumbled upon an abandoned cabin, and that was where they awoke the next morning, Jessie and James in the double bed and Meowth burrowed on top of the covers in the space between their bodies. Then had come the usual morning routine of Jessie and James arguing over who got to use the bathroom first. As always the female member of the team won that fight, and with a pout James had headed into the kitchen to forage through the cupboards in the hope that something edible had been left behind. They'd chowed down on a couple of apples each before James had taken his leave to use the bathroom for himself.

And now they were perched silently on the branches of a tree, peering between the leaves as they eavesdropped on the twerps. The brats had taken a detour in their journey to reach the next town and the twerpette's next Contest in order to check out Blueridge Mountain. Their new friend of the day was explaining that the place was one of the most infamous spots in the whole of Sinnoh for its myth about real-life future-seeing psychic Pokémon who could show a person their whole life. The main twerp was eager to see one; Jessie could hear him excitedly exclaiming that these psychic Pokémon would be able to show him finally achieving his ultimate goal of becoming a master. The girl with the Piplup was starry-eyed as she thought about being shown as the top Coordinator (ha, as if! Jessie thought to herself, Jessilina's gonna be the Top Coordinator!) The two of them were busy daydreaming about their respective moments in the spotlight until of shriek of pure joy from the oldest twerp shattered their musings with his delight at being able to finally meet the beautiful girl who would eventually become his wife.

Typical.

Jessie waited until the group had begun to move up the mountain before turning to her two comrades. They were both wearing identical devious grins, and she knew the expression would be mirrored on her own face.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" she asked.

"If you're thinking about stealing one of those rare psychic Pokémon, then yeah," James replied.

"Why settle fer just one of 'em," interjected Meowth, "when we could have a whole army of 'em at our beck an' call?"

"Point," conceded James.

Meowth clambered up to sit on the lavender haired man's shoulders as he continued. "Imagine it now, us presentin' one of dose babies ta da boss. We'd give it to him an' tell it ta show him his future. An' when it shows him visions of bein' da most feared man in da whole woild, he's gonna turn ta everyone else an' say, Fer givin' me dis Pokémon which has shown dat all my wildest dreams will come true, I'm givin' Meowth an' his friends a nice fat promotion fer deir efforts!"

"But what if the Pokémon doesn't show the boss a future that he likes?" said James doubtfully.

Meowth disregarded the remark with a wave of his paw. "Dat ain't gonna happen."

"Well, what do we do with the rest of them? I don't think the boss really needs an army of future-telling psychics when one would be sufficient…"

"Simple! We'll sell them, of course!" Jessie jumped in. "Everyone will go crazy for a Pokémon that can show them their lives! We could sell them for thousands, maybe for millions!"

James' grin returned.

"So we'll have promotions and money and we'll be laughing it up in the lap of luxury!" they cheered together, swinging energetically on the branch.

There was an ominous crack.

"Stop movin'!" Meowth hissed at once, and all three froze in their victory pose. When nothing happened for several seconds, the scratch cat relaxed with a sigh. "Okay, I t'ink it's gonna hold now–"

"Wobbuffet!" agreed the blue blob, popping out of its Pokéball to join in the fun.

At once the branch snapped, and all four plummeted to earth with screams, landing with jarring crashes on their backs.

"See? If we had one of dose psychic types," Meowth managed, "it coulda predicted dat."

Once they'd recovered, the three of them set to work seeking out the elusive psychic types. It had already been agreed in advance that once they found one, they'd force it to give up the locations of the others. Then they'd throw it in their psychic proof trap, leave someone behind to guard it and then go and capture the others. It was perfect.

The plan started to lose its charm after three hours of fruitless searching, however.

"Jess, I'm hungry," announced James, flopping onto the ground with a dramatic huff. "I can't possibly take another step without a bite to eat."

"If you know what's good for you you will," Jessie growled, not breaking pace to wait for him.

"We can eat when we've done dis," Meowth agreed. "Just t'ink of all da food we can buy when we're loaded from dis mission!"

Outvoted, James stumbled reluctantly to his feet, grumbling quietly under his breath. He stomped childishly after his two companions, who immediately went back to shoving their heads into the underbrush and crawling around on their hands and knees in search of track marks that could potentially belong to the elusive psychic types.

"If they even exist," the lavender haired man continued to chunter to himself, flopping onto his stomach and scrabbling through a particularly thick bush in favour of helping his other comrades search the lower boughs of a nearby tree. "I bet the whole story was just made up to fool idiots like us into wasting our time like this, and whoever made it up would be laughing his ass off if he could see us right now…"

Suddenly his hand came into contact with something soft and downy and decidedly not the grimy forest floor.

"Huh?" he said aloud, parting the leaves of the bush more effectively so he could identify the foreign featheriness. What he saw made him gasp.

A huge Xatu was sitting beneath this bush. Its head was under its soft wing and it appeared to be fast asleep. It was glowing a strange pink colour, and James impulsively scrambled back a few paces.

"Guys," he said in an eager, reverent whisper, unable to tear his eyes away from the majestic sight as the bird's tail twitched, "guys, I think I've found one!"

"What?" Jessie and Meowth exclaimed together, turning their attention to their male counterpart. He made wild gestures which they deduced were his way of telling them to be quiet and, heeding this, they slid out of the tree that they had been inspecting, crouching down beside him as they reached him. James pointed towards his discovery with a shaking finger. They followed his direction and uttered similar sounds of wonder.

"Wow," Meowth said softly, shifting closer to get a better look. "Dat sure is somet'in'."

"I'll say," Jessie agreed, barely daring to breathe as she drank in the sight of it. She and James continued to stare at it open-mouthed, but the scratch cat broke the spell which had seemingly ensconced the entire clearing.

"Alright," he said, "we should capture it whilst it don't know we're here."

"You're right," said Jessie, finally able to move her gaze from the sleeping Pokémon. "You've got the net, right James?"

"Uh, yeah," James shook his head free of the cottony feeling that had begun to settle in his mind. He held it up for the others to see.

"Then do the honours," gesticulated Jessie, and James nodded.

"As you wish," he said, and brought the net up in a high arc, intending to bring it down on top of the Xatu. However, before the net could even begin its descent, the Xatu's eyes opened in a flash, glowing scarlet. James emitted a surprised yelp and tumbled backwards; Jessie and Meowth seemed frozen. That was all the opportunity that the Xatu needed to streak past them with breath-taking speed.

"Where'd it go?" shrieked Jessie, the movement rousing her from her stupor.

"We can't let it get away an' screw dis up!" yelled Meowth. "We need ta find it now!"

They didn't need to search far; as the trio whirled around, they found the Xatu standing at the edge of the clearing, patient eyes trained on them.

"Don't let it get away!" Meowth screamed, and with battle cries that would've made the ancient warriors of old proud, Team Rocket charged. James was the first to reach it and leapt forward with a triumphant yell, bringing the net down over it…

…And suddenly it wasn't there. James was sent sprawling in the dirt, face-down and woozy, and Jessie and Meowth started searching desperately for it again, only to see it a few paces from where their fallen comrade was. It still had the look of serenity on its face.

Jessie could feel her temper beginning to simmer. They hadn't come this far to be outsmarted by a birdbrain! She, Jessie was not going to be made a fool of!

"It's mine," she growled, snatching the net from James' hands and tearing after it as it turned tail and began to almost float away. Meowth stopped only a moment to check on James' welfare and, seeing him groaning dumbly, deduced that he would be okay, before he too gave chase to Jessie and the Xatu.

Jessie, meanwhile, had steamrollered quite far ahead, driven on by her rising fury. The Xatu always seemed to be a couple of steps out of her reach, and she waved the net desperately as she ran in the dimmest hope that she might somehow snag it. She had no such luck.

And then, suddenly, it stopped dead ahead of her, turning its head to regard her through those wise eyes, and she knew she had it cornered. She'd been aware of Meowth giving chase behind her and could hear him screaming now, but she could not comprehend any words over the drumming of her blood in her head; she had gained on it now, raising the net high; Meowth's screams reached a crescendo; a triumphant smirk cracked her face as she began to wield the net through the air –

And then the Xatu was no longer in front of her and the ground was no longer below her.

She'd run right off the edge of the cliff.

Jessie had no time to even fully begin to scream before she'd hit the ground, and the world around her went dark.

"Jessie! No!" screeched Meowth as he willed his paws to carry him faster, into his magenta haired friend's hearing range. Ahead he could see the sheer drop of the cliff face, but he knew that Jessie had blocked it out in her determination to capture the future-seeing psychic type. The scratch cat continued to scream warnings to his companion but she was paying him no mind; if anything, her pace was increasing. The net came up –

– And, quite suddenly, she just wasn't there anymore.

Meowth gave a wail of despair and forced himself to move faster, skidding to a halt on the edge of the cliff where he'd seen his friend fall. She was nowhere in sight.

"Jessie!" he shouted anyway, straining his ears for an answer. Resounding silence met him. His voice cracked as he shouted her name again.

Meowth, what's wrong?" came an urgent voice from behind him, and it was with relief that he realised that James had caught up to him. He turned to stare at him before launching himself into the surprised young man's arms.

"Oh, Jimmy!" he sobbed. "I t'ink Jess is dead!"

This sparked a note of panic in the male human's voice that the feline had never heard before. "What? What the hell do you mean?"

"She fell off da cliff!" he sniffled. He was in the dirt seconds later as James unceremoniously dumped him on the ground and hurried to peer over the drop.

"Jessie!" he started screaming, and Meowth had never heard someone sounding so pained, so lost, so torn apart. "Jess, can you hear me?"

"She ain't answerin'," said Meowth, crawling to his remaining friend's side. "She's gone, James."

A blazing emerald glare was directed at him, and the cat was sure that his fur was going to be seared right off from the intensity of that gaze.

"She's not gone!" he said vehemently. "And I don't ever want you to say that again, y'hear me?"

Meowth actually took a couple of steps backwards at the strength in his words. "I won't. Sorry, James."

He ran a gloved hand through his hair and sighed fretfully. "So am I, pal."

The feline acknowledged it silently. He knew that while Jessie meant a lot to him, she meant a great deal more to James. The two of them were close in a way that completely confounded him. He was distracted from his thoughts by James crawling over the cliff face.

"Whaddaya t'ink yer doin'?" he said incredulously, watching as the male gingerly tested his weight on the tiny ledge below his feet.

"Going to find Jessie," was the reply.

"Are ya mad?" yelped Meowth, trying to tug on the young man's arm in an attempt to change his mind. "Dat t'ing's lethal!"

"Jessie could be hurt," said James. "I have to find her and make sure that she's okay. Now are you coming or not?"

Meowth's shoulders slumped. He couldn't argue with logic like that. "I'm comin', I'm comin'."

James nodded his approval and began his descent, with Meowth following tentatively.

Please be okay, Jess, thought James, seeking out the nuances in the cliff face and descending rapidly. Please be okay.

Slowly, Jessie's eyes fluttered open. There was a face hovering just above hers. The world around her was blurred; she blinked and it came into focus.

She shrieked.

The face that had been staring intently into hers was not a human's – it was a Pokémon's. A Xatu's, to be more precise. Suddenly everything came flooding back, and she shot up into a sitting position, wincing at the discomfort in her head as she did so. Something warm was trickling down the side of her face and she wiped it away, noting that it was blood with a second grimace.

"You!" she hissed, scrabbling around her for the net. "Come here, you little pest!"

And then she received her first real shock of the afternoon.

(No.)

The voice was amplified within her own head, and Jessie gave a yelp as she clamped her hands over her ears in a vain attempt to block out the sound. She imagined that it didn't feel much different from being probed with a rod, an unpleasant experience she'd once had to endure at the Team Rocket surgery. Once the echo had faded away, she turned back to the Xatu, eyes wide and somewhat fearful as she stared at it agog.

"You can talk?"

The bird shrugged. (It's actually telepathy, but call it what you will.)

Jessie gritted her teeth, bravely removing her hands from her ears. "Well, whatever. All I really care about is capturing you. And this time I won't let you get away!"

Xatu didn't seem the least bit phased by her words. (So you can showcase my powers to the world.) Evidently, the bird had already done its homework.

"Yeah, something like that." Jessie had resumed her search for the net.

(And what makes you think that I will allow you to do this?)

She sneered. "I'm a part of Team Rocket. We capture puny Pokémon like you every day of our lives."

(I think we both know that that's not true.)

Jessie stopped short. She had been so sure that her bluff would have worked. After all, there were no annoying brats around to ruin their plans today, and this Pokémon knew nothing of their pathetic track records. Or at least that was what she'd thought.

She was still forced to raise her eyebrow at the bird. "Excuse me?"

Xatu regarded her calmly. (You and your team haven't had a single success since you began the mission pursuing Pikachu.)

"How do you know that?" Jessie demanded to know.

The Pokémon spread its wings. (I can see the past as well as the future.)

"So it's true, then," she mused. "You really can see the future."

Xatu inclined its head in acknowledgement. (Indeed.)

"Then hundreds of failed missions or not, I'm going to capture you!" declared Jessie, struggling to her feet.

(Wouldn't you like a demonstration of my powers before you do?)

Jessie paused, tempted. It was an incredibly tantalising preposition. She would love to be shown a snippet of her future, but she couldn't allow herself to be distracted. James and Meowth were nowhere in sight, which meant that capturing this Pokémon was down to her alone.

"You can demonstrate your powers after I've got you ready to be shipped off to the boss," she said instead.

(And you want your friends to be able to see some of the things that I'm about to show you?) Xatu asked.

Jessie frowned. "What the hell do you mean?"

(I mean that there are some things that should be kept private without intrusion from others.)

She snorted. "I hardly think you're going to show me anything which can embarrass me."

At once a white-hot pain shot through her head, as though her brain was being squeezed by a vice. She gave a sharp cry and clamped her eyes shut. An image began to flicker behind her closed lids at once.

She was lying on her back, one hand clutching a firm, naked breast, rubbing the nipple with her thumb, sweat coating her body in a fine sheen as she panted laboriously for breath; her other hand was lost in a sea of –

– The image faded, leaving Jessie bright red in the face. She blinked furiously a few times to dispel the lingering licentious image from her vision, before rounding on the Xatu. It almost seemed to be smirking at her.

"You cheated!" she said accusingly, all too aware of how hypocritical and pathetic those words sounded.

(I did not,) the Xatu returned. (I merely chose an image from your future. It's not my fault if it'll embarrass you when your friends arrive. Although you did say that nothing could embarrass you.)

"Yeah, well, that was before you decided to show me in the throes of passion," she shot back. Jeez, she could just imagine the looks of horror on James and Meowth's faces if they ever saw that. They'd be scarred for life, and she'd never be able to look either of them in the face again.

(Now do you agree that there are some things which should be kept private?)

Jessie gritted her teeth, defeated. "Alright, yes!" she shouted. "Yes, some things are best kept private. Happy now?"

The Xatu did not answer. It was staring off into the distance, seemingly lost in a trance.

Jessie finally caught sight of the net, lying in a bush a few feet away from where she was now. She began to inch herself towards it. Maybe she could capture it whilst it was distracted…

(I want to show you glimpses of your future.)

The voice sounded so suddenly that it made Jessie stop short. She glanced back at the Pokémon. It was still staring intently into the distance, but it obviously wasn't as distracted as she'd initially thought it was.

"I've already told you," she said. "I don't want to see it."

(You'd appreciate it,) the bird said. (Everyone appreciates seeing something of their future.)

"Well, why would you willingly want to show me my future?" she said suspiciously. "I would've thought that I would have had to have forced you to comply with big bad Team Rocket's wishes."

(I said that I want to show you glimpses of your future, not the entire thing,) the bird corrected her. (And if you allow me to do this, I will come with you quietly.)

Well, that sounded even more dodgy. Nevertheless, the red-haired Rocket was unable to resist the temptation of getting her future shown to her. If the bird was going to come with her anyway, what difference did it make? Besides, she reasoned, if the bird showed her another image of herself in bed with someone, she needn't worry about James and Meowth ever finding out, and she needn't feel embarrassed again. It was a win-win situation, especially if she got to see the face of her eventual Prince Charming. Which, of course, was going to happen. She was far too beautiful to remain alone forever.

"Okay," she said. "But I'm holding you to your word."

The Xatu bowed. (Very well.)

"And I'm going to pick what I want to see," she added. She thought about asking to see if they ever caught Pikachu or not, but quickly banished that idea; if the three of them never caught the electric rat then it would be pointless to continue chasing it. Which then led to the question of what she would do afterwards. Still, there were plenty of other things that she could ask to see –

(I shall choose the parts of your future that you view,) Xatu said calmly, ignoring Jessie's request.

So much for that, then.

"You'll just choose ones which show me nothing important," Jessie said grumpily, crossing her arms. "Probably something stupid like what I'm going to eat for breakfast next week."

Xatu grinned, a smile that she wasn't sure she liked. (Oh, I think you'll find that these are very important.)

Before she could say anything more, it swooped forward, eyes gleaming. The world around her began to fade to black once more. That terrible pain in her head was back and for a moment she was sure that she'd passed out again and she began to flail senselessly in the darkness, but then –

–Then there was a hand slipped into hers, warm and reassuring and surprisingly strong and although the darkness pressed her eyeballs into her head she knew that there was nothing to fear as long as he continued to stand by her side; she could face the world with her head held high and –

The feeling of clarity faded as unexpectedly as it arrived. Jessie was left blinking stupidly. It was still incredibly dark – the only inkling she had that the Xatu hadn't finished showing her whatever it wanted to – and she tried to turn her head to see if everywhere was as black as her current vision. Her neck muscles felt stiff, however, and she found it impossible to even turn her head slightly. How ridiculous, she huffed to herself. If this was what future-telling was like (why the bloody hell is it taking so long to get off the ground and into the juicy details?), then the bird could jolly well keep its mysterious ability. They'd be run out of town by yokels denouncing them as frauds before the whole thing even took off properly. She herself would take make it her duty to strangle the stupid thing and –

– And she was suddenly standing alone outside a shop window, feeling vaguely longing as she stared at the beautiful white dresses displayed in the window, watching as the lights bounced off the intricate details and set the wall alight with an explosion of reds and greens and blues; she wished that she could have her own fairy-tale wedding, felt saddened that it would never happen; but then she remembered the way he treated her, the way his smile lit up the room, the way his touch could set her free, the way he worshipped her as though she was a precious goddess, and this banished her blues because she knew that as long as he was her prince and she was his princess she would have her fairy-tale happy ending, even if she never did get to marry him…

Darkness once more, and Jessie smiled in eager anticipation. Okay, perhaps she'd retract her earlier statement; things were finally beginning to get interesting. It was a relief to know that she did find happiness in her future, that she did find a man who appreciated her for her many talents. And even if he wasn't keen on the idea of marriage, she was still happy enough to stick by him. That could only mean that he'd made her truly happy in a way she never had been before, and it was a nice feeling, a great feeling –

– Her sudden euphoria was interrupted by the next scene which melted in around her.

The image that assaulted her eyes was enough to make her gasp aloud.

She was lying on her back, arms folded beneath her head. James was lying against her with his head cushioned comfortably on her stomach, one hand listlessly fingering the petals on a rose, the other hand tangled loosely with one of hers. He was speaking to her softly, though she couldn't make out the words he was forming; it was as though she was listening to him through a sheet of glass, the sound muffled and dreamy yet reassuring. She herself was staring into the night sky, taking in the beautiful constellations, carving out the path of life with her eyes. The smell of grass clung softly to the air, and the rough texture of it against her the back of her legs was divine. She was wearing a short nightgown that finished a couple of inches above her knee, and the rose which James was holding brushed delicately against her exposed skin every once in a while, making her shudder pleasantly every time it danced across her. Her spare hand meandered through his hair; the silky strands felt like water between her fingers. She sighed, contented – never before had she been so happy in her life, and as he finally sat up to face her, eyes glinting, she leant forward to –

Before she could even begin to decipher the cryptic message behind the vision, the next one was already focusing in around her. It took a moment for her to fully comprehend just what she was seeing.

And it almost made her scream. It was the same as before (what the bloody hell?) and yet –

She was lying on her back, one hand clutching a firm, naked breast, rubbing the nipple with her thumb, sweat coating her body in a fine sheen as she panted laboriously for breath; her other hand was lost in a sea of –

No way, Jessie thought, panicked. She suddenly felt ill, as though she was intruding on something she should never ever see – never ever know about – and yet she knew that she would never be able to escape it. Her eyes were wide, her breathing shallow. No, it can't be, no way, not a chance…

–Her other hand was lost in a sea of lavender hair, purple in the night. Her thighs were parted for his head, opening her most intimate part for him to see. The musk of sex was heavy in the air, and as her pleasure reached its final crescendo, James lifted his head to shift up to kiss her, his fingers carrying her through her climax with an expertise that could only have come with practise; he was evidently satisfied that he'd pleased her, and she reached down to brush against the heat pulsing in his groin, somewhat neglected until now, for it was time to repay the favour –

"No!" she screamed, and her cry was enough to shatter the image around her. For a few seconds she felt as though she was freefalling through nothing, and then she was back in her world, the sun searing her back and the Xatu staring at her with the first surprise it had shown all day. Her breathing was harsh, her heart pounding as though she'd run a marathon, and she could feel herself trembling like she had the flu.

"No!" she repeated, as though telling herself that enough would change what she had seen.

(What's wrong?) the Xatu asked, regaining its composure.

"What's wrong?" she shrieked, "what do you think is wrong? You've just shown me with my friend…like…like that and you expect me not to freak out about it? You've got to be mistaken! You've got to!"

(I'm never mistaken,) it said calmly. (I show the future, not create it.)

Jessie was shaking her head furiously, glaring hard at the bird. "But there's no way I'd ever feel like that about James!"

It shrugged. (Perhaps not now. But you will in the future.)

"No way!" she growled again. It seemed to be all that she could articulate.

(Then would you prefer to see these scenes?) it asked her, and before she could even formulate a protest the world around her faded again, until –

–She was nestled against a still form, the sweat drying on her body in a sticky mess, breathing finally slowing as she climbed down from her high. The darkness was a comforting cloak pressing down on the two of them softly, and she shifted contentedly in his grasp. His body fit so perfectly beside her and in the aftermath of their lovemaking, when her defences were down more completely than they were at any other time, she silently marvelled this fact; how his body shape complimented hers so beautifully, how they seemed to have been crafted for one another. She knew every crevice of this man's body so intimately, knew that trailing a finger down his spine had his breathing accelerating; knew how to navigate past the bony jut of his collar bone to pillow her head comfortably against his shoulder. She was in that position now, her arms wrapped around his waist contentedly. His own hands were lost in her mussed hair, as they were prone to do when their lovemaking was finished. She rather enjoyed the way it felt having his hands stroking the strands like precious spun gold. She couldn't even half-heartedly threaten him to not mess up her already dishevelled hair even further.

"Jess?" His voice was quiet and breathy, no louder than a Butterfree's fluttering wings.

"What is it?" Her voice was just as reverent, as though realising that speaking too loudly could shatter whatever beautiful spell held them captive.

He shifted a little against her, pulling away from her until he could see her eyes, navy in the night. She held his gaze evenly, giving him a squeeze of reassurance as the Adam's apple bobbed in his throat. She fought against the spark of panic that was trying to ignite in her chest.

For several seconds he said nothing.

And then he spoke, the three words that she had only just grown used to hearing for herself.

"I love you," he said so softly that she barely caught his words. He lowered his head, making sure that the locks of his hair – purple fire in the darkness – fell across his features. She smiled at his shyness. For the few times that he had said the words to her, he still sounded as though it was the first time. She would never admit it for fear of seeming soft, but it was a rather endearing trait.

She kissed him firmly, warmly, pushing herself closer to him until her breasts were meshed against his chest, until there wasn't one inch of space between them. He responded to her quietly, and she felt him smiling against her.

When the kiss ended, she breathed those three words back to him, and he held her tightly in his thin arms, tearing down the last defence to her heart –

–And then the scene faded away, leaving Jessie feeling terrified once again. She'd futilely been trying to tell herself that James was just going to be a fling, someone she could take her frustrations out on between the sheets whilst getting something out of it for herself. But then…this changed everything, turned the potential fling into something much more serious. She wanted to yell at the Xatu to make it stop, but her voice box was frozen. All she could do was wait until –

–She found herself on her knees in the middle of a clearing, a hollow feeling in her chest, the energy drained from her body, sapped away by his explosion. They had argued a million times before today, but it had never ended with him storming out of their campsite freely, an individual choice to depart, leaving her alone. That unaccompanied had been enough to douse her anger. She'd always prided herself on being strong enough not to cry – especially not over him – but she could not control the two tears which broke free this time. The look he'd bestowed upon her…it made her blood run cold...he could be out there doing anything right now…anything…

The scene shifted. Jessie was surprised to find that she was seeing the scene in front of her as an onlooker and not a participant for the first time. It took her eyes a few seconds to adjust to the dim lighting once more, but when they did her heart dropped.

It was James, James in bed with a woman hidden in the shadows. He was grasping at slim hips slicked with sweat, whimpering for her encouragingly as she rocked against him precisely. Her own moans were loud and earth-shattering. She was touching him intimately, in all the ways that Jessie herself had seen herself touching him, exploring the territory with an easiness that clearly stated that she had been doing this for a long time –

The scene did not explode dramatically to prove that final point. It merely faded slowly for the final time, leaving Jessie in the present once more. There was a strange, painful ache in her chest, and it seemed to be strangling her voice box. Still she managed to force herself to speak.

"Well," she said, and her voice was cracking over that one word, "at least our stupid relationship is short-lived."

The Xatu nodded slowly.

"What a relief!" she continued, trying to smile, her lips managing only a bitter twist. "The thought of the two of us together really was enough to make me ill!"

(I'm pleased,) said the Xatu slowly, (that it pleases you.)

"Makes me over the moon!" she said with mock cheerfulness. "It couldn't be better…"

(I can sense a but…)

For a few moments she remained stoic, staring determinedly ahead, refusing to let herself feel. But, eventually she crumbled, though she kept her gaze averted from the bird's. "Can…can the future be changed?"

The Xatu tilted its head. (Of course it can. It is set in stone only if you continue down your chosen path.)

"So I could make sure James and I never got involved in the first place?"

(If you are prepared to leave him, then yes.)

Finally her eyes met the Xatu's. Her heart began to beat faster in her chest. "I'd have to leave him?"

It nodded. (The two of you share a bond too strong to not evolve. Because you live together in such confined conditions it is impossible for your feelings not to change. Leaving him would be the only way to ensure that you change your future.)

For a few minutes she said nothing, mulling over its words. Could she live without James by her side? At one time she might have told herself that she could, that she didn't need a bumbling idiot like him to feel secure in herself. But now…now things were different. Just a few months ago she'd been prepared to throw her life away for him. There had been no fear on her part when she'd believed that she was going to die on that cliff face…because he'd been there with her. With him, she could handle anything thrown at her. With him, she was…whole.

Could she go back to how she'd been before his presence touched her life?

The bond you share is too strong to not evolve.

The answer was simple. She couldn't.

"We split up anyway," she said softly, and she could feel something inside her cracking. "So it doesn't matter either way."

(Well,) the Xatu seemed strangely hesitant. (That's not strictly true.)

This stopped her short. Quizzically, she raised her gaze to the bird's again. "Huh? What do you mean?"

The Xatu looked sheepish. (The boy. He won't cheat.)

Jessie stared at it incredulously. "But you just showed me that image of him sleeping around! And that was definitely another woman he was with!"

(Actually, that was you.)

For several seconds the words did not register. And then she exploded.

"What? What do you mean, that was me? How dare you screw around with my head, you little bastard!"

The Xatu had taken several paces backwards when she first exploded, clearly startled. (I was trying to determine whether or not you were putting on a front,.) it said, as though it could appease her with its explanation.

"What?"

(I didn't believe that you were as bothered about being with your friend in that way as you were letting on. Therefore I decided to show you an image from your future without letting you know that it involved you. I was obviously proven right with your reaction.)

"I should kill you for our empty stomachs," she snarled at it, but she could not stop the wave of absolute relief from flooding her body. James was not going to betray her after all. Her world was not going to come crashing down around her. She no longer had to regard him with the coldness that she had at their Team Rocket training. She felt stupid for even doubting him. Hadn't he proven time and time again that he would never leave her?

Perhaps she could love him for it.

With that thought, all anger dissipated. Could she love him? She thought of all they had shared together so far, the smile that lit up the world, the goofiness that was as endearing as it was infuriating, the slight feel of his body against hers, weak and frail yet oddly sturdy too. He was familiar and comfortable and there. Yes, he was James, and yes, she'd thought that he could only ever be a friend, but having him as her lover might not be a bad thing. She wouldn't have to learn how to trust him because she already did, she wouldn't have to learn how to accept his idiosyncrasies because she did it every day of her life. She wouldn't have to worry about spending too much time with him because she constantly lived in close quarters with him twenty-four-seven, so she wouldn't get annoyed with him invading her personal space. In a sense, it was the recipe for a perfect relationship.

She wasn't going to reveal any of this to the Xatu, though.

"Well, whatever," she grumbled as her heart began to pound at the thought of seeing James again. "It's time for you to stick to your side of the bargain and come with us."

The Xatu bowed. (Of course. However…)

"…However…?"

(Something unexpected is about to occur.)

"Huh?"

Before either of them could say another word, there was an ominous crack from behind them. Startled, Jessie whirled around in time to see a rock hurtling towards her. She opened her mouth to squeal –

– And knew no more.

Meowth panted as he desperately tried to keep up with his friend's pace. James' eyes were sparking with both turbulent terror and a disquieting determination. He barely seemed to be looking where he was going as he descended rapidly. It was obvious that all he cared about was finding Jessie and making sure that she was alright. At last he was far enough down to jump the rest of the way, landing and stumbling rather ungraciously to his knees. After a moment's pause to catch his breath he was back up on his feet, scanning frantically around for any sign of his missing partner.

And then he saw a flash of magenta. His heart stopped.

She was lying flat on her back several feet away from the cliff face. From where he was he couldn't assess the damage, but it was clear that she was unconscious.

"Jess!" he yelped, and took off towards her. The blood pounded in his head as he fell to his knees beside her unmoving form. A sharp cry tore from his throat.

A large, angry bruise was blossoming on her pale skin. Blood trickled slowly from her temple; most of it had congealed now. She looked in a very bad way, but he found her pulse steady with a sigh of relief. He slid his arms gently under her body, mindful that she might have broken something, and lifted her softly into his lap. One hand sifted softly through her hair while the other began to tap the side of her face gently. "Wake up, Jess. Wake up."

Meowth skidded up at that moment, huffing and puffing, eyes wide with worry. "Jimmy, is she okay?" he gasped.

James ignored him as he continued to pat her face, mindful of the bruise. "Come on, Jessie."

Her eyelids fluttered. James and Meowth shared gleeful looks.

"That's it," James continued to coax her, changing the patting to a gentle caress. "You can do it."

This time she opened her eyes. Her vision was blurred, and she blinked a couple of times to clear it. James' face swam into view, a twisted mask of concern. Mud smeared his cheek and grass stained the front of his uniform. Despite all that, Jessie noticed for the first time the way his lip quirked as he realised that she was awake again; the way the rogue piece of hair danced seductively against the side of his nose as he leaned in close to her.

"Jess!" The loud but not entirely unwelcome voice of Meowth broke the silence, and she winced as it reverberated in her head. Groaning, she sat up, James supporting her back.

"Ugh, what happened?" she groaned, looking to her partner for the answer. His hand drifted upwards to stroke the back of her head soothingly.

"I dunno, Jess," he said. "Meowth said you ran off the cliff after the Xatu and–"

"Xatu!" she shrieked, suddenly remembering, agitatedly beginning to look for the elusive bird. It was nowhere in sight. "Goddammit, where did the little bastard go? It promised to come with me if I let it show me my future!"

There were collective gasps from James and Meowth.

"Ya mean ya saw yer future?" Meowth said in eager excitement. "What did ya see? Did ya see us catch Pikachu?"

Jessie shook her head woozily. "No, nothing like that. I saw bits of my love life." Her cheeks began to heat as the image of James with his head buried in the secret place between her thighs flickered through her head.

Meowth snorted. "Ya mean ya don't die a lonely old biddy? Ya actually find someone who can deal wid dose terrible moods of yers?"

She growled warningly at him, lacking the energy to grace him with a smack, something she hadn't felt in a good while.

Obviously taking the hint, however, Meowth gave a nervous grin. "Heh, I was just jokin'."

"Yeah, you'd better have been," she said.

"So whose yer beau, den?"

Behind her, James' hands tensed on her back. Jessie knew that he was listening intently. Her heart shivered in her chest and she gave Meowth a sly grin.

"I can't tell you that," she smirked.

Meowth's mouth dropped open. "Huh? Why not?"

"I'm pretty curious too, Jess," James piped up. His hands were still stiff. "C'mon, I wanna know who he is as well!"

She wriggled out of her partner's grasp and turned to face him. A wry grin tugged painfully at the side of her mouth. "You'll find out who he is soon enough."

Meowth's voice melted into the background as James' eyes latched onto hers and held her gaze. "Do we at least know him already?"

Her gaze did not leave James'. "Yeah, you know him."

His smile was enough to make her forget about the pain she was suffering thanks to that stupid Xatu.

"Well, whatever," Meowth dismissed the conversation with a wave of his paw. "Let's go find dat boidbrain again an' make it come along wid us."

James offered her a hand as he rose to his feet again, making sure she was stable before removing his hand from her back with one last lingering caress.

"Let's go, then," he told her softly, but she shook her head.

"Let's not," she said.

Meowth stopped in his tracks and turned back to the duo, shock written across his face. "Jess, I reckon dat blow ta yer head has knocked out what little sense ya had in da foist place. Dose psychics were gonna make us rich, remember?"

Jessie shook her head again. "I think it's best if we leave everything in peace. What would be the fun if everyone in the world already knew their futures?"

"Well, youse know yers!" Meowth said indignantly. "Dis mornin' youse couldn't wait to have yer future told! So what's changed?"

The feel of James' hand in hers, his body pressing against hers, his voice hot and heavy in her ear as he confessed his love –

"Nothing," she said evasively, avoiding Meowth's suspicious gaze. "It just got me thinking. I know who my lover is going to be in the future…but would you really want to know everything about yourself? All the fun would be taken out of life that way."

"So youse regret seein' dat stuff?"

"Well," her gaze drifted to James again. "No, not really. But I only saw fragments of it. If I'd seen everything, then yeah, I guess I would mind."

Meowth sighed. Youse win, den. Let's go see if we can try an' swipe Pikachu whilst dey're distracted by dose psychics. We might as well make sure dis wasn't a completely wasted day."

"Maybe we should just leave it anyway," said James worriedly as he glanced at Jessie's appearance. "I think we've all been through enough today. I don't really fancy getting electrocuted and blasted off right now."

"Oh, youse guys suck," Meowth grumbled, but relented. "Fine, we'll leave it fer today. Let's get back ta da cabin."

"Right," Jessie and James chorused together and began to follow the feline as he bounded off.

"We were both really worried about you, Jessie," James told her as they walked together. "After we both realised you'd run off the cliff…"

Jessie was smirking again. "Let's face it, James, it's going to take a lot more than a fall from a cliff to get rid of me. We've been through too many electrocutions and bone-jarring falls for me to succumb to something as little as that cliff. We're practically immortal when it comes to injuries."

"But your head…"

"It's just a bit of blood," she dismissed. "I feel absolutely fine. Once it's washed off I'll look as beautiful as ever. Quit worrying."

She knew he was smiling at the side of her face, obviously pleased that she really was just the same. They moved together quietly for the next few minutes before James broke the silence again.

"Jess?" His voice was hesitant and quiet and she turned to look at him as he twisted his fingers together.

"Yeah? What's wrong?" she asked him.

He kept his eyes trained ahead. "Will you tell me who you saw yourself with?"

She thought about it for a moment, thought about how he'd react. She wasn't worried that he'd react badly – he was destined for her, after all, and he hadn't been expressing as many commitment phobias in the last few months, not since that Metagross incident – but she did not think that now was the right time to divulge her secret. He had to figure it out in his own time. He wasn't ready, and she wasn't sure that she was either. It would give her time to grow fully used to the idea and it would also surprise her when the time came for the two of them to hook up. She smiled to herself. Not knowing when it was going to happen was nice. She needed something to break the monotony of life, and this was the perfect distraction.

"No," she said at length. "I can't."
He sagged and pouted. "No fair."

"Hey, it's not like you won't find out at all. It's just…" she smiled again, the steamy image of his tongue grazing the inside of her thigh blossoming in her mind, a recollection to warm her on lonely nights. "It's something you have to see to believe."

A/N: Uh, yeah. That's that, then.