Family
Disclaimer: I dun own cowboy bebop!111 lolzers, pliss dun sue.
Summary: Faye ponders the dynamics that makes up a family. No pairings.
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Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family.
Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.
~Jane Howard
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Sometimes, just sometimes, Faye would think she knows what a family is, despite the fact she lost her's half a century ago and can't remember them even if she tries.
But when she looks up over the rim of her bowl, seeing Jet sporting a ridiculously frilly blue apron and waving his soup ladle threateningly at Spike who just walked in, she imagines that this is what it would be like if she had a mother.
And when Spike brushes off Jet's admonitions about being late, not having enough money, getting cigarette ash on the couch, or putting his feet on the table with an unconcerned wave of his hand, she thinks, if this was a family, then Spike would have to be the dad.
Then, when Ed shimmies up Spike's legs like some pliable alien life-form, or pops up out of the pantry cabinet scaring the bejeezus out of anyone unfortunate enough to be looking for a midnight snack, Faye wonders if her little sister would have been exactly like Ed, that is, if she had one.
So when Ein whines and paws at her leg, begging to be fed or walked, or cleaned up after, no matter how annoyed or tired she might be, Faye finds herself getting up and doing whatever needs to be done for the dog. Because Faye knows that as the family pet, Ein is everyone's responsibility, including her's.
Sometimes though, she's not exactly sure where she fits into the whole picture, dysfunctional as it is, and knows that those assignments are not permanent. Not on the days when Ein seemed to be like the eldest sibling, Ed seemed to be some stray animal who followed them home, the times that she and Spike bicker like sister and brother, or the moments Jet seemed more like a reminiscing old grandfather than the captain of their little ship.
And it is during those times that she gets just a little confused at how she almost effortlessly arrived at a place such as this.
"Faye! Stop spacing out! We've got a bounty to catch." Jet's voice crackles over the intercom. Faye looks up just in time to see Spike hurtle shoulder first into some small-time bounty-head who had his gun trained on her.
And even though later Spike swears by all that is holy that he did not mean to save her and would have gladly allowed her to be shot if he hadn't tripped over his own two feet, Faye knows better and waits until he leaves the hull before cracking a small smile.
It is times like these, Faye thinks, that losing her memories of her family isn't as bad as she makes it out to be.
After all, she's got her new family right here.
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A/N: I haven't watched Bebop in the longest time, and when I returned to it again, I saw a family dynamic I missed before. this is set before Faye regains her memories.