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Window shopping. In a way, it was Jessie's favorite pastime. In a way, specifically, because she was broke. Rarely could she afford any of the beautiful dresses that she saw on models less pretty than her — and that felt like a crime. It almost made her feel depressed, until she realized that James and Meowth did everything they could to please her. Her Jesselina dress, picked out by the two of them, was a dress she cherished forever, even since the days for a disguise like that were over. Though every so often, in her new home, she would take the dress out of the box she kept it in, eyes watering as she thought about how lucky she was to have the two of them. And yet, something almost felt missing. There would be a comforting hand on her shoulder ("Don't cry, sweetie, it's okay, I'm here," Delia would say and those words alone were enough to stop the reservoir from flooding) but it felt… Jessie's lips formed into a frown. She didn't want to say hollow, because none of it felt hollow. She was loved for who she was — as a person and not as her past. She wasn't "the woman who tried stealing her son's Pikachu over and over again" to Delia, even if it felt that she was that woman to Ash. But instead, she was "Jessie: her sweetheart, her darling, her lover," and those words made Jessie's heart explode into tempo so fast no drum could match as she laid in bed alone, thinking about how she was shown love by someone who, by all means, had no reason to love her.
And as Jessie realized she lingered on a dazzling purple dress, similar to the dress Fatina always wore that she envied, running just a bit to catch up to Delia and Ash in shoes too flat, she realized something. Delia wasn't rich — and despite always wanting to marry into a rich family, Jessie was more than okay with that. Her old wishes were just that — old wishes, wishes that couldn't account for the needs she would have in the future, wishes that wouldn't dare spill what she actually wanted. But Delia was well off. Enough so that she immediately took Jessie on a shopping spree when they first started dating — when they didn't even know they were going to spend the rest of forever together, like they did now — because she noticed that Jessie cycled through different combinations of the same clothes faster than Delia could do the laundry. And while Jessie said she was okay with it, she had made the mistake of muttering that she would love some new clothes though, and Delia clapped her hands around Jessie's, lifting them up as she exclaimed she knew "just the place." Though, in hindsight, even if Jessie hadn't said anything, she would've gotten those clothes regardless.
And yet, despite all of this, as the three of them walked into yet another store of Celadon City's mall that carried general goods, Jessie knew she couldn't bring herself to ask Delia for anything she didn't offer up herself.
But as her mind trailed off into more thoughts, eyeing the various toys for a variety of ages, Delia fell back to match Jessie's stride. Not in a way that was off-putting — quite the opposite, actually — but in a way that said she wanted to be with her.
"Anything catch your eye?" Delia asked, her head tilting ever so slightly to rest on Jessie's shoulder.
In an instant, Jessie's eyes locked onto Delia's, who gave her the kindest smile she had ever seen (though, who was Jessie kidding, each smile Delia gave her was the kindness smile she had ever seen. She was a hopeless romantic at heart, after all, a hopeless romantic who found her hope), and Jessie looked away, knowing that if Delia could read her thoughts, she would be reminded that it's OK to want things. It's OK to be selfish sometimes.
But the thing Jessie averted her eyes to was a set of various feline Pokemon — Meowth, Skitty, Glameow, just to name a few — in a home that looked much like Jessie's new home in Pallet. When she was a kid, it was a set of only Meowth in various outfits, and she remembered wanting it so badly. She never got it, what with their money situation being what it was, but everytime she went to a toy store…
"Oh? What's that?" Delia asked.
"This? It's a playset of feline-like Pokemon that I've wanted since I was a kid! Back then they only had Meowth, but it…" She trailed off. How could she? Jessie was in her twenties now, she had no time for dolls. So she kept walking, trying her best not to look at the set she wanted so badly to have just to tell her childhood self she got it, because that was selfish, and it was OK to be selfish, but not at the expense of others.
Especially since it was 6700 Poke.
Within a month, Ash was getting ready to leave for yet another trip. It was apparently a research one — something Jessie thought was out of character for the twerp who rushed headfirst into everything, but she was glad he was leaving. She'd miss him for the months he would be gone, but she also couldn't help but think that it was good for him. He and Pikachu couldn't sit still, they needed to go somewhere or else they would fizzle out and lose the spark that caused Jessie to chase after them for so long with James and Meowth.
So when she walked into his room unannounced and uninvited, she flicked his hat off his head. "Won't miss you, Twerp."
"Won't miss you either, dad," he said as he picked his hat back up, the smirk on his face growing as Jessie's face scrunched up, mad as all hell that she would even be referred to in such a way.
"Oh yeah? I'll miss you less than you will less — Ugh!" The words got away from her, much to her dismay as Ash burst into a fit of laughter, one so strong it woke up Pikachu from his little nap on his top bunk.
The two stood awkwardly afterwards, both quickly looking away to avoid eye contact. It was still… Weird, getting used to Ash being part of her family, and she knew he shared the same weirdness.
"But… Maybe call home every once in a while. For Delia's sake," Jessie said and she knew that Ash knew, at this point, that she didn't mean for Delia's sake, but for her own sake. Because Ash knew to call his own mom, he was a good kid, that much Jessie could see.
And Ash sheepishly rubbed the back of his head as he said. "I will… For her sake, I know." And Jessie knew that Ash really did mean for Jessie's sake, because he'd gotten to this. This was their routine every time they had to part ways, each time the gap between them growing longer for Delia's sake, but still, they kept up the same games.
And Jessie wondered when it would end.
"Oh, yeah," Ash started, his voice nonchalant as if he was about to tell Jessie to take out the trash or do a chore that he forgot to do. But instead, he walked over to his closet, Pikachu trailing behind, as he digged out something that was partially wrapped, partially unwrapped (teared, actually, to the point Jessie could sorta make out what it was from a distance, but she wasn't sure). "Mom told me… Well, who am I kidding. Mom got this for you, but she let me give it to you for her because she wanted us to be friends." And he handed the half torn present, one she could tell was only torn because of how messy his room was, not because he purposely wanted it to get that way.
As Jessie opened it, she gasped. "No way," she muttered, knowing full well what it was. The toy set she had eyed a month ago when they went to the department store. But it wasn't the same exact set. It was different… It was larger.
"Mom said she wanted to get the exact one you eyed, but I…" His voice trailed off as he rubbed the back of his head. "I convinced her to spring for the more expensive option since I figured — hey!"
Before he could even finish his sentence, Jessie hugged him. The annoying hug, the one that he hated, in which she pressed her face against his and practically smothered him. It was mainly reserved for when he did something small but nice and Jessie wanted to annoy him, but this time it was out of love. When she let go, she noticed his hat was on the floor and picked it up, putting it back on his head the way it should be.
"Thanks, Ash," she said, feeling awkward for using his name, but she would've felt more awkward using Twerp in this situation.
"You're… Welcome," he said as she patted him on the back.
"Now excuse me, I got a date with your mom as you pack!" she said all cheerfully, leaving Ash's room to search for her dear Delia, who she found in the kitchen, sipping on a cup of tea.
Jessie walked over to her, placing her playset on the table as Delia's eyes perked up, and gently turned Delia's face towards her so she could kiss her dear on the lips. They stayed like that, interlocked for moments that felt like minutes, before Jessie broke away, her mind too anxious to know how long Delia was hiding that.
"Aw, Ash finally gave it to you! You know, it was him that suggested we get the more expensive one," she said, smiling that infectious smile of hers.
"How long did he keep that in his room?" Jessie asked, her fingers trembling as she waited for the answer.
"Oh! It must've been a month by now, we got it the day after you laid eyes on it. You said you'd always wanted it as a child with a pang in your voice —" and Jessie couldn't remember if that was true, but it most likely was, since it sounded like her when she reminisced about her childhood "— and I figured you still wanted it, so I wanted to surprise you with it. Or, well," she said with a giggle, " Ash to surprise you, but I'm sure he told you it was all my idea anyway. I swear that boy, I love how honest he is but he needs to learn to keep a few secrets now and then."
Jessie stood there, playing with her arms and her fingers in all sorts of ways, realizing that even when she didn't ask, Delia delivered…
"Aren't I…" The words choked up on her. "Too old? To be playing… With toys?" It was much easier to say she was going to build it with Delia in front of Ash than it was to even ask Delia to do so. For some reason, it all felt childish, like Jessie was throwing a tantrum and Delia just gave into her wishes. But it wasn't true. It wasn't true at all . Jessie just… Said something and Delia just… Listened. Like she always did.
"Of course not! Hey, we can put it in our room if you want! It looks kinda like our house anyway."
Our house.
Because this was Jessie's house too.
Once more, Jessie pulled Delia in for a kiss that morphed into a hug when it ended, and whispered, "Please… Let me know if you need anything next time. I'll get you anything."
And all she heard was, "Just keep doing what you're doing, Jessie. I love you — gifts or no gifts won't change that. I love you, I really do."