The Price of This Love

by oOAnime AngelOo

When Gene gets mixed up with the wrong woman, it has dire consequences....for Jim. *completed 4/26/01*

1. The Girl

The Price of This Love~*

By Anime Angel ^0^

*Oh yeah! Ahem *clears throat* None of the characters of Outlaw Star belong to me, with the exception of Naomi whom I don't like anyways blahblahblahblahblahyaddayadda....you know the works. Well...enjoy my second fic!

Jim rolled over in his bed at the sounds coming from the next room. Pushing the pillow down over his ears, he sighed. The red-haired captain of the Outlaw Star was at it again; he had brought home another girl. Now Gene was in his room with her, 'relaxing' as he had told Jim.

"Hm...stoppit you!"

"Only if you stop..."

Jim grunted in frustration as the giggling in his partner's room began to grow louder. He had been awake for some time now, listening to the couple's conversation in the next room. He wouldn't exactly have called it a conversation, since it mostly consisted of weird noises, but that word was the only thing he could come up with that late at night.

"HEY SILLY WATCHIT!" the girl giggled.

Jim had had enough. He was exhausted from the day's work, and needed to get some sleep. Slowly, with a yawn, he rose out of the warm sheets and, taking his pillow, wandered into the hall. Not caring what he would find, he pushed open the door of Gene's room.

"JIM! What do you think you're doing?!" Gene yelled, quickly throwing some sheets over his girlfriend. The two were lying in his bed, as Jim had expected, and various pieces of clothing were strewn around the room.

"I'll tell you what I'm doing Aniki, I'm shutting you two up!" he yelled. "You're not the ONLY one in this place ya know!"

"Common JIM! I had a busy day..."

"And so did I! You really should go get a room next time!"

The girl piped up from under the sheets. "I thought you said we were all alone, Genie! And what did he mean 'next time'?"

"Well, apparently "Genie" told a little fib," the boy informed her. With that said, Jim returned to his now some-what quieter room. After a few moments of silence, he heard the door to the apartment slam shut.

"Jim you little RAT! You chased another one off!" Gene yelled. Jim could only chuckle at his partner as he fell back to sleep.

~*~*~*~

Gene woke early that morning at the smell of coffee in the kitchen. As he squinted against the morning light flooding his bedroom, he could hear his younger partner's hums coming from the kitchen.

"Mornin' Aniki!" Jim said cheerfully as Gene stumbled to the table.

"Mmmmm....coffee?"

"Right here." Jim handed him a cup.

"Mmmmmm..." Gene savored the aroma for a moment before gulping down the hot, refreshing liquid. "More..." he mumbled. Jim smiled and poured him another cup. He finished off right away.

"You know, Aniki, you should really BREATHE in between those cups..." Jim laughed as his partner only mumbled incoherently. "Or maybe you should just go back to bed!"

"Well....I would be a little HAPPIER if SOMEONE hadn't have interrupted my laxing time last night," he retorted.

"Yeah well I'm the one who does all the work around here! I need my sleep!" Jim said, suddenly defensive.

"And I need my LAX TIME!"

"So GET A ROOM!"

"Why don't YOU?!!"

"CUZ I DO ALL THE WORK!"

"Ya already used that one, buddy," Gene said, smiling. He waited for a comeback, thinking that his younger partner was playing. "C'mon! You aren't gonna give up now, are ya?" Jim only grimaced, his happy mood seemed to have disappeared.

"Never mind," he growled, getting up from the table.

"Hey now, if it was gonna make you mad then why didn't you just say so?" Gene called after the boy. "Kids..." he muttered, finishing off his third cup of coffee. "I juuuust don't get em."

"Maybe if you paid a little more attention you would."

Gene looked up from the table, and found himself staring eye to eye with the dark-haired Melfina. "Oh...um...hi Mel."

"Hm. Hi." She smiled at him. "So, I heard you had a girl over this weekend."

"Um...yeah." His mood, like Jim's, darkened.

"Well...." She looked expectantly at him. "Are you going to tell me about it?"

"Aw...it didn't go that well. Stupid Jim ruined it all." Gene got up from the table and wandered into the living room, if one would call it that. It consisted of just a couch, a chair, and a TV. There was a small table, but one of its legs had been snapped, so it sat isolated in the corner.

"How did he ruin it?" Melfina inquired. She looked genuinely confused.

"Aw...nothin'." He plopped down onto the couch and switched on the TV. "So how was your night at the hotel?" he asked, never looking up from the TV screen.

"Oh it was wonderful Gene." She paused and seemed to be thinking. "Though, Aisha was a little loud. Or maybe that was Suzuka...?"

"If it was snoring...it was Aisha."

"Yeah, I suppose." Melfina sat down next to Gene. "So, where is Jim now?" She could tell the two were having a conflict.

"Ah I dunno." Gene continued to stare at the screen.

"Oh...well I'll go look for him then! And Gene?"

"What?"

"We need groceries. I don't have any time, and as I recall it is your turn to go get them." She looked at him sternly. "Now, Gene?"

Gene grumbled and slowly rose from the soft cushions lining the tattered couch. "Fine. It'll get my mind off of what I COULD have had last night."

~*~*~*~

Naomi Kita slowly made her way through the grocery mart, pushing her cart cautiously around baskets and tables of food. However, she wasn't there to shop. She was there 'prospecting', as she called it. More accurately, she was looking for men, unique men. Men that could give her what she wanted. Men that could give her what was missing in her life.

Naomi gracefully rounded a table filled with fruit. She pretended to eye the large pieces of food, but then moved on, making her way to the bakery section of the overly small store. She was about to turn out of one of the aisles, when one of the customer's caught her eye.

She gasped. Could this one be it? She eyed him carefully as he picked out a shopping cart. He was a tall, slim man, with a cloak and dark eyes. But what she noticed most about him, was his hair. It was a deep red, and had caught her attention immediately. Now, all she had to do was find away to start a conversation. Moving quickly, she pushed her cart toward his. They collided with a loud crash.

"What the hell?!" The man was about to say something more, when he saw who he was talking to. "Oh...um...sorry," he said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck. Their carts were now entangled in a heap, she had hit him pretty hard.

"Oh no, um...it was my fault," Naomi said, batting her eyelashes at him. He began to blush.

"Um...lemme help you there!" He bent over and began picking up the contents of her fallen purse. "Um...you need anything else?"

"Oh no sir...though...I am a little hungry..." she said sweetly.

~*~*~*~

Gene Starwind could not believe what he was hearing. Did this girl, the one who had hit him, just ask him on a date? He stared at her, wide-eyed, until she again spoke.

"Would you mind maybe, um, taking me out to lunch?" The girl was tall, about as tall as he, and slim. Her eyes were a mysterious gray. He had never seen eyes like those, and they intrigued him. "Hello?" she laughed, pushing a piece of raven black hair out of her eyes.

"Oh! Sorry!" Gene felt his face getting warm. But why? He had never been nervous around girls before. "Heh...I was just...thinking...um." Before he knew it, the girl and him were walking arm in arm out of the store, leaving the two entangled carts behind.

~*~*~*~

"MEL! Where the hell is Gene?"

Melfina looked up from the pot of rice she was cooking and shook her head. "I don't know, Jim. I sent him out to get groceries this morning."

Jim frowned. Not only was his partner late, but he had been entrusted the duty of picking up groceries. Now the only food in he house was rice, which was already being prepared for dinner. "Where IS HE!?" Jim growled, pounding his fist on he keyboard of his computer. "He has work to do! Can't he ever just finish a simple job? How hard could it be to pick up some groceries for crying out loud!" Jim sighed. He should have been used to his partner's messing around, but he had been working his butt off all day trying to get their finances in order. Why should Gene get to play all the time, and never him? Finally, the blond gave up. "Uuuuuuugh.."

"Jim, settle down. I'm sure Gene has a good excuse for being late." As if on cue, Gene burst through the door, a large grin on his face. He stood there, smiling stupidly...without groceries.

"Gene...." Jim knew what that cheesy look on his face meant: he had blown another job. "Who is she THIS time?" he sighed. There was no use in scolding his older partner, it would only lead to more trouble.

"Oh, Jimboy she was beautiful," Gene said dreamily, sitting down next to the boy at the table. "She had this wonderful black hair--"

"Just like the one before, huh?" Jim said nonchalantly. He went back to typing.

"Oh come on! This girl, her name was Naomi. We really hit it off! Hell, she wants to see me again tomorrow!" The outlaw smiled proudly. "That's the first time somein' like that's happened in a while!" he said stupidly, not realizing that he was insulting himself. The exasperated Jim could only smile back. How could he stay mad at this carefree goofball?

"Yeah well, you and her can go on a shopping date tomorrow," Melfina said, almost glaring at him.

Gene whacked himself on the head. "Gee, heh, sorry Mel! I knew I had forgotten something." He sighed. "Look, I'll do it tomorrow, k?"

"All right," Melfina said quietly. She put a plate of rice down in front of him. "But all we have to eat until then, is rice."

Gene cringed. Rice was not his favorite food. Trying to act pleased, he stuffed a spoonful into his mouth. "Mmm...ish good!" he said, rice spilling out of his smiling mouth. Jim whacked him upside the head.

"Gene Starwind, you are such an asshole."

"At leasht I ain no runt like you!" the red-head returned, his mouth stuffed full. He turned to Jim and proceeded to scoop rice into his lap.

"Hey!" Jim yelped. "Oh your gonna get it Aniki!" he screeched, tipping the entire pot of rice onto the outlaw. He then pounced his older partner, both of them flying to the floor in a flurry of arms and legs.

"My food!" Melfina put the pot back up in its upright position, but not before the majority of the rice had been strewn about the floor. She would have scolded the two misfits, until she realized that, for the first time that day, the two were laughing. She watched happily as they wrestled about. Well, at least they've made up, she thought, wondering how long it would last.

~*~*~*~

Gene woke up early that morning. Well, early for him at least... it was actually about eleven o' clock. Yawning loudly, he hopped out of bed, and proceeded to get dressed.

"Oh yeah....who's lookin' cool..." Gene said to himself in front of the mirror as he ran a comb through his unruly hair. "Now where is that stuff..." Gene searched quickly through the drawers on his small wooden dresser, and finally found what he was looking for. "Cologne for the--"

"Idiotic male bimbo," Jim finished from behind. Gene ignored him and slapped some of it on his cheeks. "Hey, is that the stuff that the girl was always complaining about back on--"

"Oh shut up Jim. This girl is different." He turned to his partner, who was now leaning in the doorway. "I know it, buddy. It's gonna be different this time. Me and her...we had a GREAT time yesterday! And don't you dare do anything to chase her away now, ya hear?" He looked sternly into his younger partner's bright blue eyes before pushing past and strolling into the kitchen. Jim nearly died at the overwhelming smell of Gene's cologne.

"Ya think you put enough of that stuff on, Aniki?" he coughed, his eyes watering. "You want to charm her, not kill her!"

"Oh yeah? And what would you know about women, eh?"

"Oh come on Gene, I should be the master of women... being around a sleezball like you so much."Jim laughed as Gene's face grew red.

"Oh come on, I don't go through that many women. Do I?" His question was only met with a snicker. "Yeah well, I guess I do," Gene finally agreed, slapping Jim over the back. "So, you'll tell Mel that I'll be out most of the day, right?"

Jim nodded. "Yeah, yeah Aniki. Just don't go and forget to get the food again!"

"Hey now. I wouldn't do that. Not twice in a ROW anyways..."

"Yeah, sure Aniki. Whatever you say..." Jim said sarcastically.

"Heh, see ya tonight, kid."

~*~*~*~

Naomi looked desperately around the resteraunt for Gene. He was late, way late. She sighed as the place started to fill up, and once again looked at her watch. Maybe he isn't the one I want... Just then, the slamming of the restaurant door broke through her thoughts.

"Gene?" Sure enough, it was him. In the outlaw came, looking somewhat stressed and exhausted.

"Oh...Naomi....I am SO sorry. I promised Jim I would get groceries, and , well the list was longer than I expected..." He stopped when he saw her motion him to a table. For a moment, anger flickered in her eyes. Damn him....he was late....he was trying to humiliate me in front of everyone... Her thoughts stopped abruptly, and she forced herself to calm down. The anger, as quickly as it had appeared, was eliminated from her eyes.

"I...I'm sorry..." Instead of letting Gene continue, she changed the subject.

"So, who's Jim?" she inquired, smiling sweetly. "Is he your...father? Brother?"

"Oh no...Jim's just my partner," he said. A waiter came by and handed them both a menu.

"And, he was the one the made you late I suppose..." Naomi let her voice trail off. It was a way, she had learned, to grasp the attention of men easily: let them think that you're angry. Let them believe that you're hurt.

"Um...well....sort of. I was supposed to do it yesterday but, you know, with the whole lunch thing, I sorta got distracted."

"Did I get you in trouble?" she asked, fake worry flooding her voice. "I'm sorry! Yesterday, I had such a great time!"

"Oh no! It wasn't you!" Gene's face grew red. "You see, I get distracted easily!" He laughed nervously.

"Well, this conversation is getting nowhere!" Naomi rubbed his leg under the table playfully, wanting the man's full attention. "Why don't we just do like yesterday, hm? Have a little fun...do a little driving..." She continued to play with him under the table.

"Sounds good to me." She felt his foot over hers, and suddenly wanted to be gone from the crowded restaurant. Naomi wanted to be alone with the man sitting across from her.

"I--" She stopped. If she rushed things too much, he wouldn't want her. And then? Then he woud leave. Leave and be gone forever, just like the others.

"What?"

She looked into his eyes. "Gene, you aren't going to leave me, are you?" No! her mind screamed. You just met him yesterday. But then, they did have so much fun. The beach, the kiss he had planted on her cheek as they looked out over the water...she didn't want any of those memories to be lost. She had to keep Gene Starwind. She wouldn't let him go.

"Hey, now. I'm not going anywhere!" The outlaw leaned over the table and gave her a small kiss on the cheek. "After this lunch, girl, I'm gonna take you someplace where we can be alone," he said, as if he had read her thoughts before.

Naomi smiled back at Gene, her grey eyes sparkling. She had to make sure he would always be there. She had to make sure that he would never leave her....never.

To be continued....duh

*Well...what did ya all think? Was is better than my last fic (those of you who actually READ it)? I hope so. I worked REALLY hard on this one. There will be more, and it will get more exciting...but as of now I am just setting the thing up. Please review! I will give you a little piece of info: Naomi is NOT I repeat NOT a good girl. Poor Jim.....and no there is no lemony material, and no yaoi...but maybe some graphic violence and Jim torture....er....angst. K? Jim just sorta....well I won't tell you. You can already see the conflict between him and Gene's relationships. Well....hope you come back for more!