Just wait.
It takes time.
Cherry Blossom Song
by Anya Mikato
Faye yawned, stretching her arms above her head as she slowly rose out of bed. She glanced outside, at the cherry trees outside the window. It was strange, here they were in late September, and the blossoms were as pink as they were when they first bloomed in spring. But Faye, along with the residents of Tokyo, didn't seem to mind. It was just something you couldn't complain about.
As she stood up from the bed, a shooting pain in her leg reminded her of what happened the night before.
"Owwww..." she mumbled, sitting back down. She looked down and stroked her leg gently, trying to soothe away the pain. It was a brutal hunt that went down last night, the chase lasted almost twelve hours. The bounty was for Mitch Stevens, a big-time crack dealer who the cops had been after for years. When Faye finally had him cornered, she failed to see one of Steven's men behind her. A bullet grazed Faye's right leg, leaving her on the ground without her gun. Before Stevens and his man could get to her, though, Spike came along and knocked both men down.
Dammit, Spike, she thought to herself. I had that one under control. She looked across the room and glared at him, sleeping soundly on his make-shift bed. Jet, Spike and her only had enough money to get two hotel rooms, and they drew straws to see who would sleep with who. As luck had it, she had to be in the room with Spike.
"I get the bed," she argued when it came time to sleep.
"Why? I was the one who got the bad guys."
"Well you wouldn't have caught them if I hadn't cornered them."
"From my angle, it looked like they were the ones cornering you."
A few punches and bruises later, Faye got the bed, Spike got two chairs and a pillow.
She sighed and stopped rubbing her leg, the pain subsided for a moment. She got up, slowly this time, and yawned again. She limped towards the bathroom, but stopped when she was half-way there. Her shoulders slumped, feeling guilty, and limped back to the bed where she picked up a blanket. She hobbled over to Spike, draped the blanket around him, and then made her way to the bathroom.
I am going to kill her...
He sat up, wincing. Gently he removed a chair from his chest, the one that toppled over him when he rolled over and fell from it. He stood up and found the bed before him empty. He glanced at the clock, it was almost noon. He yawned and stretched, making his way over to the bathroom. He turned on the shower and stepped in.
There was a small window in the bathroom that enabled him to see the tops of the trees outside the hotel. He noted that the cherry blossom trees were still pink, not yet white and ready for autumn like they should be.
After he finished, he went back out into the room and pulled on a pair of khakis and a black shirt. He got out of the room and walked a few steps down the hallway, and stopped in front Jet's room.
"Jet?" he said, knocking lightly on the door.
"Yeah, man, come in."
Spike opened the door and stepped inside, seeing Jet and Faye out on the balcony. He walked over to them.
"Ya sleep well?" Jet asked, offering his friend a cup of coffee. Spike took it and gulped it down.
"Yes," he lied, looking straight at Faye. "Yes, I did." She grinned.
Spike put his cup down and took a deep breath of the city air. "Anyone wanna get something to eat?"
Jet shook his head. "No, I'm fine. I managed to get some grub while the two of you were sleeping."
"Aww," Faye said, turning to Jet. "And you didn't bother to get us something?"
He raised an eyebrow. "You would?"
"Point taken." She turned to Spike. "I guess you're stuck with me again."
"Yay."
They settled on a small sushi place a few blocks from their hotel. They both swallowed down two plates each. To space cowboys like them, sushi was a delicacy.
They walked around the city a little bit, gazing at the sights, stopping for a little bit when the other wanted to check something out. They talked some, sharing past experiences in Japan, bad memories about raw fish, the usual small chit-chat.
They came across a creamery, and at once Faye turned to Spike, her eyes begging that they should stop there.
"Ice cream's not my thing," he said, trying not to laugh as others tried not to stare at Faye, who was desperately pulling at his arm.
"Come on, please," she said. She gave up and let go of his arm. "It'll be my treat."
He shrugged and walked towards the building. "Yes, m'am."
Once inside Spike took a seat at a table while Faye ordered a couple of sundaes. Her back was to him but still he watched her, leaning over the counter, the contours of her body screaming loudly through a pair of nicely fitted blue jeans. He had to force himself to stop staring, but something caught his eye. On her right pant leg, a crimson pool started seeping through.
She lifted up the tray of sundaes in front of her and turned around, almost bumping into Spike. "Couldn't wait, could ya?"
He leaned forward and whispered, "Your leg's bleeding."
She looked confused for a moment, then looked down, her bottom pant leg soaked with blood. "Ohh..." she said, looking bewildered as she handed Spike the tray. Quickly she ran to the bathroom.
Faye opened the door, almost stumbling in. She raised her leg onto the sink, rolling up her jeans. She removed the bandages, threw them away, reached for some paper towels and wiped away the blood. She was in there for a while, and it didn't seem as if her leg was going to stop bleeding.
She sighed, trying not to cry. It didn't hurt to much, it was just that she was frustrated about being the little girl that Jet and Spike always has to rescue. There were countless of times she had gotten hurt and needed them to take care of her. This one put her over the top. She hated having them see her like that, vulnerable. Especially Spike.
Suddenly the door opened. She closed her eyes, knowing who it was. She heard a few footsteps come her way, his husky scent soon entered her lungs.
"You okay?" he whispered. He was right behind her, almost touching her.
"It...uh...it won't stop bleeding."
He moved beside her, placing a first aid kit on the sink. "You carry that in your pocket?" she asked.
"No, I asked the guy working the cashier for it."
"Oh."
He gently lifted her hand away from the wound, exposing it. He took a few moments to examine it. Reaching for the first aid kit, he pulled out a piece of gauze and spilled some alcohol onto it. He placed it on her leg, and felt her wince back.
"You okay?"
"Yeah."
For about five minutes they remained still, silent. His hand was pressed onto her leg, giving it pressure. Finally he removed it, the bleeding had stopped. He bandaged it up, and rolled down her pant leg.
"There, you're perfect again."
She looked up at him, at his eyes, his crimson red eyes. "Thanks."
They walked back out to their table, where their ice cream was waiting. He dug in right away. He glanced across the table and saw her just staring at her sundae.
"What happened to, 'if I don't have any, I'll die!'?"
She looked up, then sighed. "Spike."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
She picked up her spoon and shoved it into the sundae. "For saving me last night."
He smiled and took another spoonful of ice cream in his mouth. "If I let you die, my life would be a whole lot easier." He paused. "Easy is boring."
She smiled, too. "Yes. Yes it is."
In between mouthfuls, he said, "Just...just don't do it again, okay?"
She was going to ask him what he meant, but deep inside she knew. "Okay."
He grinned. "Well okay, then."
Jet sat quietly outside the balcony, adoring this time to himself. He closed his eyes, the classical music playing in his hotel room soothing him. It's so much quieter when those two are out bickering somewhere else...
Suddenly something brushed against his hand, he opened his eyes to see what it was. He looked down at the ground where a single cherry blossom lay, peaceful away from the tree as it was attached. Jet smiled.
Finally, they were falling.