Suga grumbles as he cleans up what seems like the twentieth mess of Pokefood off the floor. He swears he just swept up this area. He had turned his back for barely a moment only to find a pile of toppled Pokefood containers all over the floor. And with one look at the pink cat perched up on the counter, he knew exactly who did it. That little demon Skitty was out to get him.

“Really, Suga?” Seokjin sighs before going back into the storage room to get more Pokefood to refill the containters. “I don’t know what to do with you anymore. Sometimes I think it was a mistake to do this.” He chuckles. “I swear I lose more inventory from your spills than actually sell it.” When he finishes refilling the containers, he returns to the register where he pets his Skitty and gently pets a sleeping Zubat. Suga looks over at the Skitty and all it does it smirk at him.

“Nyaaa.” The Skitty sighs before lounging onto its pillow for a nap as well. Suga just grumbles again, cleaning up the mess. At least the demon Skitty was going to sleep and wouldn’t be bothering him again for a while.

Suga had been there for a good two months already. Seokjin made him wear civilian clothes as opposed to him Team Rocket uniform. The black hoodie and jeans feel strange against his skin and he’s not sure he’s ever going to get used to it – not that he has to, considering he’s going to be out of there in two weeks time. Though, Suga isn’t complaining. Life at Seokjin’s shop isn’t that bad considering the bed is much softer and the food is much better than what they have at the Team Rocket Headquarters.

It kind of reminds him of his old life, before he joined Team Rocket, before he became Suga.

“Hey!” Seokjin’s voice snaps Suga out of his thoughts. “Get back to cleaning! I’m not paying you to do nothing!” Suga has to bite his tongue to keep him from speaking because Seokjin isn’t actually paying him anything. “But once you’re done, come back to the kitchen. Lunch is almost ready.”

Suga grumbles a bit more while he sweeps up the remaining food pellets on the ground until he gets a whiff of the aroma of food in the air and his stomach grumbles instead. He has to admit, for an uptight prick, Seokjin makes pretty yummy food, though he won’t admit it. Unknowingly, a smile makes it across his face.

“Finally,” Seokjin says as Suga makes his way to the kitchen. He sees the table is already set with a big platter in the center of tonkatsu. He can’t help but notice, however, that there are three bowls of rice set at the table. “I thought you would never come. I was gonna start eating without you.”

“I’m surprised you didn’t already.” Suga chuckles. He takes a seat next to Seokjin before taking a long stare at the third plate. Seokjin always sets out an extra plate but it always goes to waste because there is never a third person to eat. Suga has always been curious about it but he’s never had the courage to ask about it until now. “Why do you always set the table for three? There are only two of us here.”

Seokjin, who is about to eat a bite of the tonkatsu with rice, pauses and then places his chopsticks back down. Seokjin smiles, but it’s more like a bitter, painful smile and Suga immediately regrets asking about it.

“It’s for my brother.” Seokjin reaches over to the table setting and fiddles with the chopsticks that are set out for the empty chair. He gazes at it and doesn’t speak. It gets a little awkward so Suga clears his throat before talking again.

“You mean the one whose bedroom I’m staying in?” Suga feels a little guilty prying into business that isn’t his but his curiosity – or maybe it was care? No. Team Rocket cares for no one but themselves – gets a better of him.

“Yea. I always set out a bowl for him just in case he comes back.” Seokjin laughs, again bitterly. The look in his eyes is the complete opposite of the smile on his face. “He left home a while ago. Maybe a couple years ago. Most people would have given up already, right? It’s ridiculous that I keep waiting. I should just stop, right?”

“I think-”

“Nope! Don’t tell me!” Seokjin closes his eyes shut and crosses his arms over his face to make an “x”. Once Suga stops talking, he puts his hands down and grabs a hold on his chopsticks to eat a bite of food but Suga can’t help but stare at the way Seokjin’s hands are shaking slightly. “Let’s stop talking about this. I don’t like eating with a sour mood.” Suga decides to drop the topic. Maybe he’ll get to ask him about it another time.

“Hey,” Suga doesn’t know what comes over him but he reaches over to place his hand over Seokjin’s which is just lying on the table. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here.” He laughs a bit, trying to lighten the atmosphere again. “I don’t really have a choice. I’m kind of stuck here anyway.”

Seokjin laughs and it’s the first time Suga’s heard him laugh genuinely. It’s not a snarky laugh. It’s not a I’m-laughing-at-you laugh. It’s an actual, genuine laugh. And Suga swears it’s the most beautiful, angelic laugh he’s ever heard.

“Thanks.” Seokjin looks at Suga with a gaze that makes the pit of his stomach bubble with some sort of emotions he’s never felt before. “I’ll be sure to keep that in mind.”

--

It’s a little past 5 in the evening and Seokjin is in the process of closing up the shop. Suga was busy putting the lids on all the Pokefood containers while Seokjin was locking up the front door.

“Hyung,” They had gotten pretty close so Suga felt comfortable enough to call him hyung instead of Seokjin.  The locksmith was coming in a couple days. Seokjin called him the other day and the locksmith promised that the first thing he would do when he gets back to Verdanturf is fix the lock. Suga can’t believe that one month passed by so fast. “Why are you closing up shop so early? Don’t we still have a whole hour until we usually close?” Seokjin looks over at Suga before placing the keys to the shop in his pocket.

“Ah, well I’m running low on berries to make the Pokefood and Pokeblocks.” He locks around at the empty shop. “And business was a little slow today so I figured I could close up shop early so I had more time to get berries.” He makes a sharp whistle and Skitty immediately comes running out from the back of the shop and jumps up to perch on Seokjin’s shoulder. “I’m headed to the flower fields now. Do you wanna come with?”

 Suga shrugs and figures why not. It’s not like he is going to do anything else. He calls over Zubat and the Pokemon flies over. He reaches his arm out so that Zubat can sit on it but Zubat just flies right past him and over to Seokjin. Suga laughs because he’s used to it by now. His Zubat has taken a liking to Seokjin and he’s been especially clingy with Seokjin lately. Maybe Zubat knows that they’re only staying for a couple more days. And then they’re probably never going to see Seokjin or Skitty again.

There’s a sinking feeling in Suga’s stomach and he doesn’t know what it is. Anger? No. As a Team Rocket Grunt, he knows what anger feels like and this definitely isn’t it. Sadness? No. Team Rocket doesn’t feel sad. Disappointment? No. What would he be disappointed in? Well, whatever it is, Suga doesn’t like it at all.

The walk to the flower fields is quiet but comfortable. It’s a weird mix of Suga and Seokjin just enjoring the presence of the other but at the same time wanting to speak yet not knowing what to say. At one point, Seokjin opens his mouth to say something, but nothing comes out so he just closes it again.

The two walk side by side, though it’s a little hard for Suga to get close to Seokjin considering the older has two Pokemon perched on his shoulders. But, it’s close enough for Suga. Suga enjoys the little jolts of electricity that come when their hands lightly brush against each other as they walk. He’s not sure but he swears he sees a slight tinge of pink sweep across Seokjin’s face when he glances down on his hands. That’s enough for the pit of his stomach to bubble with an unknown emotion. But this time, he likes it.

“And we’re here!” The two stop and Suga looks up to see a huge clearing filled with flowers and dozens of Illumise and Volbeats flying around, pollinating the flowers. Seokjin lets Zubat and Skitty down into the field and they run off, enjoying the sweet aroma of flowers and the feeling of the grass under their feet. Seokjin runs off the follow them, the wind pushing his hair back. “Come on, Suga!”

Suga is frozen in his spot. The emotions bubbling in his stomach start to rise rapidly, almost to the point of bursting out of him. His breath gets caught in his throat. Seokjin just looks so angelic. The Illumise and Volbeat start to fly towards him and circle around him. He happily pets all of them before sitting in the field. Seokjin looks over to Suga and waves him to come over. Suga then snaps out of his trance before walking over to him, his heartbeat getting faster with every step.

When he gets there, Seokjin is already laying down on the flowers with his eyes closed and a bright smile on his face. His smile can’t help but make Suga smile as well. Suga sits down next to Seokjin before following his lead and lying down as well.

“I thought we came here to pick berries.” Suga mutters with his eyes closed. He takes a deep breath in, partly to calm himself and partly to get a better whiff of the soothing aroma of flowers. Honestly, he could care less about picking berries. This is actually much better.

“We have the whole rest of the day to pick berries. We can just do it later.” Seokjin moves his arms behind his head to use it as a pillow. “This field is my favorite place in the town. Everyone in town helps take care of the flowers here. The flowers her attract Pokemon and the Pokemon help both the flowers and the berries grow better.”

“It’s nice here.” Suga hums in contentment. There’s nothing anything like this near the Team Rocket Headquarters. Maybe he can convince one of the admin to do something like this. It would be nice for the other grunts.

“My brother and I used to come here every day when we were kids.” Seokjin speaks again just looking up at the sky. Suga is content with just listening to him while looking at the blue expanse of the sky. “Our parents died because of a freak accident with one of the Loudred in the Rusturf Tunnel. A Loudred created an uproar that caused a cave-in. Our parents were killed.” Seokjin has to pause before speaking again. “So I was left to take care of my brother. But when my brother got old enough, he got involved with the wrong people and left. He swore that he hated Pokemon and he would do whatever he could to avenge our parents.” There’s a silence. Suga looks over at Seokjin who has an unreadable expression on his face. “How about you? You don’t seem like a bad person. How did you get involved with Team Rocket?”

Suga frowns and his eyebrows furrow across his forehead. No one has ever asked him that question before and it takes him a moment to think before he can even answer.

“When I was a kid, I was always the smallest one so I was always bullied for my size.” Suga pauses and puts one arm behind his head to lie on before talking again. “And one day I just got frustrated so I ran away from home. Team Rocket found me and told me if I learned to control and take power over Pokemon, it would never happen again so I joined. That’s kind of it.” Suga sighs. “But part of me wonders if it was really the best way to go. My code name, Suga, was given to me because it’s short for Sugar. All the female grunts would call my Sugar because they thought I was so small and cute.” Suga scoffs. “Looks like I’ll never be able to get away from it.”

“What’s your real name?” Seokjin rolls over to look at Suga. Suga turns to face him too.

“Yoongi.” The name feels awkward and unfamiliar on his tongue. It’s been so long since he last said or even heard his name.

“Yoongi. I like it. It’s much better than Suga.” Seokjin looks at Yoongi with a twinkle in his eyes. “I think I’m going to call you Yoongi from now on.” Seokjin smiles at Yoongi. “Yoongi.”

“Yea?” Yoongi looks at Seokjin expectantly.

“Oh, nothing. I was just testing it out. I like it.” Seokjin smiles at Yoongi. It’s a smile that makes his eyes crinkle and squint into two little slits on his face. It’s a smile that makes Yoongi’s breath get caught in his throat. It’s a smile that makes Yoongi’s heart stop beating for a split second before making it beat insanely fast.

Seokjin is much too perfect and wonderful for Yoongi. How could a lowly Team Rocket Grunt ever amount to even a quarter of what Seokjin is? And the thought makes Yoongi doubt himself. The thought makes him go silent, much more silent than his usually quiet self.

“What are you thinking about?” Seokjin looks at Yoongi with furrowed brows and Yoongi just shrugs. “Aw come on. That’s a lie. You’re thinking about something and its bothering you so say it. Just spit it out.”

“I.. um.” Yoongi tries to say it but it gets caught in his throat so he takes a deep breath before trying again. “Why did you let me stay?” The question makes Seokjin’s head tilt in confusion. Yoongi clears his throat before explaining himself. “I mean, I’m part of Team Rocket. Any sane person would have run away or kicked me out. But you, you didn’t. In fact, you forced me to stay.”

It’s Seokjin’s turn to take a deep breath. His hand makes its way to a single flower that is on the ground between them and he holds one of the petals between his index finger and thumb, enjoying the sensation of the soft, almost satin-like texture against his skin.

“I have a confession. The story I told you about my brother isn’t completely true. The beginning part, at least.” Seokjin pauses, looking for the right words to say. “At first he wasn’t the one overcome by anger and hatred. I was. Jungkook was much too young to remember much about our parents. I think he was barely 5 at the time.” Yoongi furrows his eyes in confusion.

“Jungkook…” He says the name because it’s so familiar and the way it comes off his tongue seems natural, like he’s said it so many times. And then it clicks. His eyes widen in realization. “Jungkook? You mean Team Rocket Admin Jungkook?” Seokjin nods his head with a sad smile. He takes a deep breath to try to hold his emotions in. “But Admin Jungkook only had one brother and he was…” Yoongi pauses to think before looking at Seokjin with wide eyes. “Team Rocket Admin Jin. That’s you, isn’t it? You’re a legend in Team Rocket!” Again, Seokjin nods with the same sad, bitter smile. “But, everyone in Team Rocket said that you were dead…”

Seokjin looks away, as if in shame. Immediately, Skitty comes over and nuzzles her way into Seokjin’s arms, as if she could sense Seokjin’s sadness. In response, Seokjin just pets the pink cat before placing a kiss on her head.

“That was just a cover up. I wanted out but as you know, once you’re that high up in Team Rocket, it’s really hard to get out. Jungkook thought it was the only way.” He pauses before looking down at the Skitty and holding her to his chest tighter. “I was so ashamed of the way I acted as part of Team Rocket. I hurt innocent Pokemon and treated them as my slaves. I overworked them so that I could train the strongest Pokemon possible because I wanted to control them. I wanted to make them pay for what they did to my parents.” He stops then looks away. “But it wasn’t right. I woke up one day and Skitty here was barely breathing. I had overworked her so hard that she almost died and it was all my fault. That’s the reason she knows Thunderbolt. I made her work so hard just to learn a single move and she almost died.” Tears well up in Seokjin’s eyes as he looks down at the Skitty. “But, you’ve forgiven me, right?”

“Nya!” The Skitty looks up at Seokjin and his face, making him laugh.

“Technically, Skitty here isn’t even my Pokemon. After I left Team Rocket, I released all my Pokemon and they all left me.” Seokjin nuzzles his face into the top of Skitty’s head. “But Skitty here refused to leave no matter how much I told her to go. But I didn’t have the heart to capture her again so I just let her stay. She’s really a wild Skitty but she likes to think that she’s mine.”

Yoongi gazes at Seokjin with an unreadable expression on his face.

“So, now you know. I don’t think Team Rocket is bad. I think they’re just good people led astray with anger and hatred. But deep down, they’re still people. And that’s why I keep waiting for my brother to come back. Because I know that eventually, he’ll realize what the right thing to do is. Isn’t that right, Skitty?”

“Nya!” Skitty bounces up and gives Seokjin another before going off to play with Zubat and the other Pokemon in the field.

“But you know,” Yoongi finally speaks. “Just because you’ve told me all that, it doesn’t mean that I’m going to stay. In a couple days, when the locksmith fixes your lock I have to go.”

“I know.” Seokjin moves to sit up on the grass, dusting himself off. “I wish you didn’t have to though.” Seokjin gets up to stand and finishes dusting off the rest of the blades of grass off his clothes. “I’m gonna go pick some berries now. I should probably do it now so we don’t get back too late.” And Yoongi watches as he runs off in the opposite direction.