Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.

Summary: Rated K+ or T, depending on your style. Takes place right before chapter 1 of Stand by You. No spoilers. One-shot.

Characters: Jessie, James, Meowth, and OCs.

Spoilers: You might want to finish reading Stand by You before reading this, but you might be able to enjoy it as a stand-alone.

A Long-Awaited Victory

She froze in disbelief in front of the cheering crowd. Thousands of people were staring at her. Not at the stage, or her Pokémon, or the bright lights and attractions, but at her. Because she did it.

"You are the now the official Kalos Queen," Aria said as she handed her tiara over to Jessie. "You earned this. Congratulations."

Jessie gasped. It was strange because she could not recall the last time someone told her that she 'earned it'.

"Wobbbbbba Wobbufffffet!" Wobbuffet wobbed happily as he received his own tiara.

"Hahahaha, yes!" Jessie cheered, the realness of the situation finally catching up with her. "I am Jessilee! Your Kalos Queen!"

"I can't believe she actually did it," said Meowth, who was making his way through the audience on James' shoulders. "Without any cheatin or nothin. It just ain't de Jessie way."

"Meowth! You can't say that to her! Remember, we knew all along she would make it," James replied, giving the Pokémon a wink.

"Ink, Inkay!" Inkay responded with a nod.

"I hope dis Kalos Queen business don't go to her head," Meowth muttered.

Meowth was happy for her, of course. Besides, it was good for him too. Though there wasn't a big cash prize for the Kalos Queen, the people of Kalos were bound to shower her and her cohorts with free food, free rent, and maybe even some presents that they could bring back to the Boss. Plus, she would be in a better mood, which was always a good thing for the male members of their group. It was The Queen Effect.

"Jessilee!" James called brightly when he saw Jessie's face.

"James! Meowth!" she answered back, leaving the stage to run towards them.

Meowth clung to James' shoulders and hair as he ran up to Jessie. All six members of their team embraced. James finally let go of Jessie after a few minutes, and Pokémon followed his lead. Jessie held both of his hands in hers. They looked each other in the eyes and then leaned their foreheads together.

"Um...just remindin yous dat I'm still here," Meowth mumbled.

He was still clinging to James, though he had toppled off of his shoulders and was now holding onto his back.

James and Jessie snapped out of their daze and brought their attention back to their environment.

"I knew you would do it all along, Jessie-sama," said James. "Or Queen Jess, if you prefer."

"Queen Jess is fine," she replied.

Unbeknownst to the trio and their Pokémon, a wealthy restaurant and hotel owner was observing their exchange. He looked to be about the same age as James' parents. He came up to the pair before they could walk away.

"My name is Aimon Hemingway," the man said. "And this is my Mawhile, Brennen. It is an honor to get to see you, milady."

The man and his bow-tied Mawhile bowed before her, then to James, then to each of the Pokémon.

"Can we help you?" James asked.

"Actually, I came to help you," he responded. "It would be an honor if you joined me for a free dinner and night in my hotel."

"Dat will be awesome!" Meowth piped.

"A talking Meowth! What a treasure!"

James covered Meowth's mouth.

"Shh, we are trying to lay low, remember?" he whispered.

"Well, it's too late now," Meowth pointed out.

"As your Queen, I expect only the best. I assume your hotel is a fine one?" Jessie inquired. "Because I do not settle for anything less than five-star."

"Yes, Ma'am. Five-star rating. My hotel is the finest in Kalos: Le Hotel de Luxe," Aimon replied.

"Le Hotel de Luxe? That is one of the expensive hotels in the world!" James gasped. "You are going to let us stay there for one night!? And eat a meal there too?"

"Well, since you are not locals, I imagine you will need a place to stay and food to eat. I would let you stay longer, but soon it will be tourist season—"

Jessie, James, and Meowth dropped to the floor, causing the man to stop midsentence. Aimon sweat-dropped, having no idea what their reactions meant. Jessie stood up first.

"I'd love to stay. You aren't just using me to get publicity for your hotel, though are you?" she asked.

"Who cares! So long as we gets free stuff—" Meowth started. He was silenced by James, who put his hand over his mouth glared at him to stop talking.

"I can make sure that no one knows that you are there," Aimon responded. "We can have a chauffeur drive you in one of our limousines with the shaded windows, and we can buy you all new clothes, makeup, and accessories so that no one would recognize you; you and your husband will not have to worry about fans bothering you when you want to relax and have your privacy at the end of a long day."

"James is not…whatever," Jessie responded. "We are taking you up on your offer."

"Splendid, Madame. I know you have the press conference to go to. I will pick you, your husband, and your Pokémon up in the back at six. Then we can escort you to the hotel, and you can relax, and we can bring you a five-star meal in the room or you and your family can come down to the restaurant. Does that sound appealing?"

"Sure does," said Meowth.

"Thank you," said James.

"Wobbuffet," said Wobbuffet.

"Your Queen thanks you," Jessie responded as the man kissed the top of her hand.

"Oh brotha," Meowth sighed as Aimon disappeared. "Dis Queen stuff is gonna make her head even bigger den it already is."

"Um, Jess?" James started.

She either didn't hear him or ignored him as a swarm of fans came up to her, requesting her autograph. She smiled, whipped out a pen, and got to work.

'Well, people assume we are married all the time, and she never denied it before,' James thought.

Meowth and Inkay started to walk away. James hesitantly followed them.

"Don't go too far!" Jessie called to them. "Don't forget James, we're a team!"

"I know!" he answered back, raising his voice so that he could be heard over her fans.

Once they were a distance away, Meowth curled up for a catnap while James sat by the stream. As Meowth dreamed, James watched the wild fish and Pokémon swim by as he got lost in his own musings.

'It was just something about the way Aimon put it,' he thought. "Dinner for two, a hotel room, privacy, it all had implications. Neither of us makes assumptions about our relationship, we just do what we do. Jessie and I share everything: beds, meals, baths…we provide each other with moral support and comfort on a regular basis…but we do that because it just always felt so natural. No one was judging us, except maybe Meowth, and it is not like we were public figures. But now…soon everyone in Kalos will know our faces if they don't already…'

James decided to take a walk and do some stretching while he had the chance, hoping that the light exercise will distract him from his own thoughts. It didn't work.

'Jessie can use this to her advantage,' James told himself. 'She always had those fantasies...people serving her, having a fairy tale wedding with her perfect match...but lately she has defended our partnership and denied that she was single. Maybe because of what happened with Dr. White...Ah! Why do relationships have to get more and more complicated the older you get?'

XO

An hour after the TRio and their Pokémon met Aimon and Brennen, it was time for the press conference. James and Meowth sat in the back while random people with cameras and microphones asked Jessie questions about her training methods, beauty techniques, baking, Pokémon care, and life. As expected, she made the vast majority of the answers up, without putting much thought into them, except for the questions that were about her personally.

"How old are you Miss Queen Jessilee?" one of the little girls in the front asked.

She looked to be about six or seven herself. The child had magenta hair, much like her own, and was carrying a baby Swablu. Normally Jessie would be offended by such question, but seeing how this girl looked up to her, quite literally, she decided to give a believable answer.

"Twenty-four," she replied. "A young twenty-four."

"Are you married?" a young man asked. He looked to be about the same age as her and James.

James, who was about to nod off like his Pokémon pal beside him, perked up instead.

"I'm involved," Jessie hesitantly answered.

James and Jessie made brief eye contact, then Jessie looked away and the questions and answers resumed. Her answer made him feel happy and frustrated, content but confused. He returned to the same train of thought he was riding earlier that day.

'There she goes again…but maybe this is because she is afraid Aimon is watching. If he finds out that we are not married, he might not give us the accommodations he offered before,' James rationalized. 'But that guy was just her type. She never turned down men who were her type...'

XO

After the press conference, Jessie, James, and the Pokémon joined Aimon and Brennen in their limousine. Brennen and Meowth had a conversation, which the rest of the party could only understand half of, while their host talked to them about their staying in Kalos.

"There is never a dull moment in this wonderful land," said Aimon. "I've lived here since I was a child, though I did spend six years as a nomad. I went through Unova, Sinnoh, Kanto, and Hoenn. When I retire, I plan on exploring the rest of the world. Where are you from originally? I can tell by your accents that you're from one of those Asian regions…"

"Kanto," they replied in unison.

"And what is it you do for a living?"

"Um...we are…chefs," said James.

Jessie gave him a curious look, since their go-to career was 'fashion design' and not 'culinary art', but James just mouthed 'I don't know why I just said that'.

"That is right," Jessie picked up. "We specialize in…noodles. Perhaps you heard of Jessie and James' Noodle Shop?"

"That was named after you two?" Aimon inquired.

"It sure was."

"I love that place! There's one not far from my house here in Kalos. I have been a big fan ever since I discovered them in Sinnoh about five years ago."

"Yes. Sometimes people call me 'Jessie' instead of 'Jessilee'. Jameson goes by 'James' too."

"Your work inspired me to do a noodle section on my menu. Wow! I would have never guessed that the Kalos Queen and her mate were the proprietors of one of my favorite eateries. This is such a treat!"

"Um…we are glad you think that…" James mumbled.

"Yes, well Kalos is a magical place. I have met so many amazing people here, including my wife. They do not call it the land of love for nothing. We say that if you come looking for the love of your life here, then you are sure to find the perfect partner. I never heard of anyone ever saying anything otherwise."

"That's…interesting…"

James gazed at the window to avoid the prying stare Jessie was surely giving him.

A few minutes later they arrived at the restaurant, which was connected to the hotel. Aimon and the others stepped out of the limousine and a bellhop took their bags.

"You must have more than just these two bags," Aimon commented. "Where were you staying before this?"

Most of Jessie and James' things were in the Meowth balloon, which they ditched in the forest about two miles north of where the press conference was held. Admitting that the rest of their personal items were out there would sound suspicious.

"I can have some of my employees pick your things up from the last hotel you stayed at," Aimon suggested. "It would be no trouble at all."

"Don't be ridiculous! The truth is, these are all of our things," Jessie told him. "We are very light travelers. Nomads. We only carry what we need. Before here we were just staying in this little inn. We left nothing behind."

"Huh. You sure are an interesting pair. My bellhop Ferrand will escort you to your room," he replied.

Jessie, James, and Meowth followed Ferrand to their room. They marveled at the enormous hotel. There were twenty floors, all sparkling clean, and the walls were covered with expensive artwork. The carpet was so soft, they felt like they were walking on Mareep wool.

"My family used to stay here when we visited the Kalos region," James whispered to his two companions. "Every floor has its own swimming pool/spa, and every meal here is all-you-can-eat. There is a seafood buffet too: the biggest in the world."

Tears of joy streamed down Meowth's face as he embraced Jessie.

"Dank yous so much Jess! Danks to yous we are finally livin de good life!" Meowth exclaimed.

The servant glanced at them quizzically. Jessie gave him a look that said 'back off', and he did not say anything. They rode the elevator up to the top floor. They walked down a hallway until they got to a large door.

"And here you are, the master suite," the bellhop announced as he unlocked the door.

"No way!" the three Rockets exclaimed in unison.

"Wobbbbuffet!" Wobbuffet wobbed as he squeezed past the others.

The penthouse was bigger than most homes. There was a full-sized kitchen, fully stocked, a giant flat-screen TV, an enormous leather couch, one huge bedroom, two full bathrooms, and tons of open space. The bellhop put their stuff down and left them alone.

"A bed!" James squealed happily as he dove onto the king-sized mattress. "It's good, my back was starting to hurt from so many nights in the woods."

"Mine too," Jessie said as she jumped in next to him.

"Mine tree," said Meowth, crawling between the two of them.

"Let's let out our Pokémon," James suggested. "Go Inkay!"

"Go, Gourgeist!" Jessie added.

Once everyone was out, they left the bedroom to go explore the rest of the penthouse. Meowth followed them.

"What do you want to do? Stay in or go out?" James asked Jessie, who was lying next to him with her eyes facing the ceiling.

"Out. It is my first night as Kalos Queen. I want to go out and celebrate. I bet I can convince that Aimon guy to buy us a few drinks," Jessie replied.

"Should I be concerned about your methods?" James asked.

"Ew, James." Jessie whacked him with a paper fan. "He's like twice our age."

"Let's get ready then."

The two humans showered and pulled on some of their nicer clothes. James helped her with her hair while she put on her makeup. Meowth slowly woke up from his nap and observed them beautifying themselves in the mirror.

"Yous two going out on a date?" he asked, snickering as he jumped off the bed.

"Nope," Jessie replied. "All six of us were invited to dinner."

"Aimon asked us while you were talking to that Mawhile," said James.

"Sounds good ta me," Meowth contently replied.

"Go bathe," Jessie responded. "The Queen and her associates need to look their best."

James tossed Meowth his little hairbrush and a bowtie.

"Look sharp," he added.

XO

It took about two hours for the group of Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Gourgeist, and Inkay to finish their multi-course meals in the incredibly fancy dining room.

"What do you think? Should we go for dessert and more wine?" James asked his friends.

"Duh," Jessie and Meowth replied in unison

"You look a little uncomfortable. Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

Jessie ordered more Carmes de Riessec and chocolate-covered strawberries. Meowth and the rest of their Pokémon headed over to the dessert buffet, which was located on the other side of the extravagant restaurant.

"I haven't had food this expensive since we visited your grandparents," said Jessie. "According to the menu, we ate about four hundred dollars' worth of food so far."

"I suppose being Queen really does have perks," James responded.

James reached across the table and touched her hand, which was lying next to her wine glass. Their eyes locked for the second time that day. For the first time in a while it was just the two of them alone. Aimon had gotten them a private table, located towards the back of the restaurant and behind a wall where they were hardly visible.

"What's the matter?" Jessie asked. Her eyes dulled and there was a shred of concern in her voice. "You look like you're thinking too hard and that's not a regular thing for you."

"I'm just so happy for you. It feels really good to win for once, doesn't it?" he asked with a genuine smile on his face.

"It does feel great to be the top of something other than the bottom."

"Totally. So, where are we going after this?"

"Hmm…how about we take a walk, find a bar, and I'll work to get us some free shots. Then we can head back to the hotel and watch a movie if we're tired or pull another all-nighter if we're not."

"Sure…but I meant days from now, after we get kicked out of this hotel…there is no way we could afford this place after our free week here is up."

Even as the undisputed leader of their trio, Jessie wasn't one to plan. Floating around the world, bullshitting work for the Boss, doing random contests, and partying on occasion were their default 'plans'. She had been dreaming of becoming Kalos Queen for months, but with that goal down, it was time to look for another; they both had a feeling the Queen Effect wouldn't last as long as they wished it could.

"The usual," Jessie suggested.

"Waiting on faith and fate," James inferred.

"Of course. Do you have a better idea?"

"Not quite."

"I don't want to leave Kalos. This is my kingdom now."

"What about the Boss? We have been here for months. He might want us to return to Kanto or to go somewhere else soon."

"Don't worry about it; we can lie about how we are too involved here to leave just yet."

"Right…Like what, exactly?"

"We can make up a report about how we are involved in something important and cannot abort the mission just yet. We can figure the details later."

"Speaking of being involved…Why…are we 'involved'?"

"I just told you: don't worry about what we'll tell the Boss. We'll figure it out as we go."

"You must what that I mean."

"…No…"

"You said at the press conference that though you are not married, you are 'involved'."

"Well, I am."

"I want to know what that means."

"It means…no big deal, James. This is our fun night; don't keep worrying about it."

They sipped on more wine and ate a few more strawberries, but James couldn't let that conversation go.

"All day people have been throwing themselves at you. Not just any people, the type of men and women you like. Smart, rich, cute... all of them practically begging you to take them out on a date, yet you are not having any of it."

"I just decided that I am no longer going to be into that sort of thing," Jessie responded. "I am a Queen. None of them are good enough for me."

"I know there is more to it than just that." His face softened when he noticed Jessie's look of defeat. "You can tell me why. We are completely alone: a rarity."

"I know…"

"What? You don't trust me? I thought I was your husband."

Jessie did a quick look around, making sure that Meowth and the others weren't on their way back. Then she leaned into James.

"Swear you won't tell anyone," she demanded.

"I won't tell a soul," he promised.

"The truth is..." She hesitated, unsure whether or not she was ready to admit this aloud barely when she could barely admit it to herself. "...I just can't deal with that anymore."

"With what exactly?"

"It always comes down to just me." There was sadness in her voice, but she refused to cry. "I am just not meant for that sort of thing: settling down, marriage, romance in general. Every person I have been with or thought about being with eventually tossed me aside."

James squeezed her hands. "I never tossed you aside."

"You...you don't count."

"What do you mean I don't count?"

"Because you and I are just friends."

James gave her the puppy dog pout. "Just friends?"

"Okay, we're closer than 'just' friends."

As far as she knew, most male-female friends weren't joined at the hip 24/7 the way they were. Most 'just' friends did not sleep in the same bed, wash each other's backs, or help each other get dressed and ready every morning as they did.

"But it's not the same as romance or marriage," she added.

"Of course," James responded. "I don't want to get married and you don't want to get married, and this might be why we get along so well."

"It must be."

"Nothing is better than friendship."

"Agreed."

"And if—theoretically—we ever had a romance; we'd still be friends."

"Yeah, but that won't happen."

"…Sure…"

"Is there something you need to tell me? Something personal you gotta get off your chest?"

"…No…"

"…Sure…"

"Uhhh…"

"I promise I won't leave you again. This Kalos Queen stuff is going to be fun… but I only got here because of our little family. As of right now, I am done with all that romantic crap."

James was almost going to confess how much he liked the 'romantic crap' to which she was referring, but they were interrupted by the return of the Pokémon members of their squad.

"Uh oh, looks like we interrupted yer moment," said Meowth as he noticed how close the two were and how tightly they were holding onto one another's hands.

"Why don't you join us?" James asked as he grabbed Meowth and pulled him and Jessie into a hug.

"Enough," said Jessie. She backed away from them all. "Let's go out."

XO

The six of them walked the streets for the next two hours. Dozens of people bombarded them the moment they left the confines of the hotel/restaurant property. The crowd took pictures, begged for autographs, and asked questions. Eventually, they were able to escape by using one of their disguises to sneak past them and back up to their hotel room.

Inside their room, there were baskets of goods waiting for them.

"There must be ova a dozen of dese!" Meowth exclaimed as he looked around the room.

"Oh! Someone must have given these to us as gifts for me achieving the title of Kalos Queen!" Jessie squealed as she picked up a wine, chocolate, and fruit basket.

"This one has rare bottle caps in it!" James exclaimed. He glowed happily as he showed his friends a basket of French beer. "I didn't have these ones yet."

"And dis got catnip!" Meowth exclaimed, lifting a basket decorated with tiny Meowth.

"Wobbbbbaaffffeettttt!" Wobbuffet exclaimed as he popped out of his Pokeball. He held up a basket that contained several board games. Inkay and Gourgiest cheered with him.

"Let's play Trouble," Jessie suggested. "I wouldn't mind staying up a few more hours."

"Neither would I," said James.

"Yous do dat," said Meowth. "I needa nap."

XO

After a few more hours of drinking and game-playing, the TRio passed out on the bed. After some pleasant dreaming, James woke up in the middle of the night and was surprised to find Jessie sprawled out on top of him. He slowly placed her next to a snoring Meowth and Wobbuffet. When he got back from the restroom, Jessie was awake and sitting up on the bed, waiting for him to return.

"I'm sorry! I didn't want to wake you up," he whispered. "I just really needed to pee and you were crushing me."

"I woke up a few seconds before you did. I tried to get up, but I couldn't without waking you. I figured you might be...uncomfortable in some areas if you woke up and found my lying on top of you like that. But...it turned out I was a little too late anyway," she replied, notably smirking.

It took James a moment to register her comment. When he did, a tint of red appeared on his cheeks.

"It's a natural response! It was not my fault. I was asleep!" he said defensively.

"Chill," she said playfully. "I'm just messing with you. It's not like this is the first time this has happened anyway..."

James blush deepened. He put his head down and lied down on his side of the king-sized bed.

"But if you were consciously interested…" Jessie whispered. "You could hit me up and I might be game."

"You would be?" he asked, his hope bemused.

"It depends on my mood."

XO

The next few months were different for the trio. Instead of stalking twerps, Queen Jess and her family traveled from town to town, receiving free food, board, and gifts everywhere they went. Best of all, Giovanni did not call them back and was even pleased with them when they started sending him Pokémon on a regular basis. Apparently, when Ash was not around, it was much easier to capture Pokémon for the Boss. While they knew the Queen Effect would eventually wear off, for now, they were all satisfied.

Because Kalos really was the land of love.