James x Reader | Pokemon | - | REWRITE |

TR | Medicine

James picked them up and gently placed them on the bed. They wouldn't be waking up anytime soon, he knew. The sickness was getting to their head.

And James felt bad. He didn't really know why they cried---it didn't seem like his taunting had ever really affected them before---but he reminded himself that there were thousands of reasons, all perfectly justifiable.

They were right, about how they should be acting upset. How desperately James wanted to get them out of this situation, he couldn't express. Quite literally, he couldn't. And there were times he thought of how he could get out of this situation himself, how he fantasized different scenarios of finally living a normal life...

It wasn't right to keep them here, and James had reminded himself that about a thousand times before. But even more now with Jessie's new plan of manipulating them by acting generous. No matter how he tried to help them within the Team Rocket lifestyle it would just circle back around to manipulating them to Jessie's wishes.

And he didn't mean to do that. But he guessed it really seemed that way, because how could they possibly differentiate? James would feel bad if they actually started to take a liking to him, as much as thinking about it made him feel happy, he knew it was selfish and...sort of evil of him. He felt guilty wanting that. He wanted them to continue hating him for their own sake, but at the same time he wanted their trust so he could help them more, comfort them and help them escape.

But if James was anyone else, trusting him would be the worst decision. Because he would be---(he was)---following Jessie's plan.

He sighed and sat on his bed, idly scrolling on his phone, waiting for them to wake up.

Frequently he thought about how all of this was really affecting their sleep. Tired after the most trivial of things...

He looked at the antidote on the nightstand. Should they really drink that...?

The sickness went in waves. Maybe after this one he'd be able to catch them awake enough to prevent the worst of it without the need of risky medication. Just maybe...

He knew it was false hope. But he really didn't want to force what was essentially animal food onto them. He found it utterly dehumanizing, which he was sure Jessie would like.

So when he joined her and Meowth for dinner, he told her that they had taken the antidote. He told her all about how they had just fallen asleep after they had gotten home, and how their sickness continued to worsen.

Jessie was enthralled. She insisted it would the sickness would die down at some point, but that it was the perfect opportunity to take advantage of them.

Meowth added to her ranting that the best way to "manipulate" them would be providing them with actual medicine, which would have made sense if Jessie liked it.

But she didn't.

To which James asked if that wasn't what they're supposed to do, what would be the plan?

To which Jessie responded keeping them sick, lying to them and insisting there was no way to aquire actual medicine.

James told her that they weren't that stupid.

Jessie told him that he was.

James asked what that had to do with anything.

It didn't, she said, but she just wanted to remind him.

James reasoned that they should just get the medicine, give it to them, and forever hold it against them if they ever acted out, demonstrating how generous they were.

Meowth agreed with the plan. He had to for this to work.

Jessie didn't understand why they were so insistent, since her plan was clearly better. She explained how the more they were sick, the more vulnerable they would get, and saying that they were unable to get the medicine shows that they were trying to help but were unable to, which would only make them feel guilty.

James sighed. He was tired.