On Board the Bebop

Docked on Mars Still

Mid-Decemberish

"Spike-person, do you believe in aliens?"

Spike, sitting and fishing off the edge of the ship, turned to look at Ed, who was laying on the deck staring up at the clouds passing across the sky. He glanced over his shoulder at Jet, who was hanging laundry on the line and who shrugged at him with a blank expression.

"Like… life forms from other galaxies?" He asked.

"Yes! Mysterious space creatures! Like the one that gave you all the purple lumps!"

The lanky bounty hunter chuckled. "That wasn't a space monster, Ed. That was food left to mutate." He frowned then. "Huh. I don't remember cleaning it up after the medics revived us." After a moment, he shook the thought off. "We'll never get to know, Ed."

She sat up and cocked her head to the side. Sometimes between her and Ein he wasn't sure which was more canine and which was more human.

"Why not?"

Bouncing the fishing pole he held, Spike shrugged. "Well, I just figure anyone else out there is probably smart enough to stay away from our neck of the woods."

Behind him, Jet started laughing. "You think we're in a rough neighborhood of the universe?"

Refusing to look back at his chortling partner, or Ed who had also begun to laugh, Spike put his focus back on the fishing pole and the slack line. "I'd avoid us," He muttered under his breath.

He furtively looked left and right. Maybe Faye was nearby and he could deflect their amusement off on her. But then he remembered she'd taken off earlier to bring Ein to get his nails trimmed. The data dog had started clacking much more noisily lately and none of them were especially comfortable trying to clip his nails. Well, no, Ed had been eager to help but Ein had not been at all amenable to letting her get close enough to try.

Spike suspected Ein was being a handful for whoever was getting paid to take care of the issue, if only based on how long Faye had been gone. Not that he was keeping track of the time.

Jet, finished with the laundry, wandered over to stand to the left of and slightly behind Spike, peered past his bony shoulder to the murky depths of the water below. Ed rolled over as well in a series of somersaults that nearly landed her in the drink. She gazed at the waves as raptly as Jet.

Shifting his eyes from one to the other without turning his head, Spike maintained a bored expression despite how their proximity and interest in the water was beginning to unnerve him.

"Looking for anything in particular?" He asked eventually.

Jet shrugged, taking a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and putting one in his mouth. Wordlessly, Spike took one hand off his fishing pole to hold it out towards Jet in supplication, to which Jet snorted loudly.

"You still owe me a pack," The ex-cop told him flatly.

Spike gave him a half lidded stare in return. "Need a light?"

Patting down his pockets, Jet came up with nothing except a glare for his lanky younger partner. Spike grinned and rooted around in his pocket until he came up with Jet's lighter which he'd nipped off his partner earlier that day. He delighted in putting his sleight of hand tricks to the test against Jet's ISSP training and general observational skills.

Growling at him, Jet snatched the lighter back and lit his cigarette. As a begrudging after thought, he finally offered a cigarette to Spike before putting his pack away, but he didn't offer the lighter. Still grinning to himself, Spike took out his own lighter to use.

Ed reached over to tug on his fishing pole while he was distracted. Almost fumbling the thing into the water, he frowned at her but Ed took no note of his grumpy face.

"Aliens from below! The deep dark depths house wonders more wonderful, strangeness more strange, and curiosities beyond what the imagination can conceive!" She was squatting on his right but leaned out to look past him over to Jet on his other side. "Can we take a voyage to the bottom of the sea? Submarine tour with submarine sandwiches to take a closer look? Perhaps the fishing is better down below…"

Jet gave a shudder. "Hell no. I've seen some of the shit that lives in oceans and I don't need to see any more or get a closer view of the horrors I already know are down there."

An ear piercing screech filled the air and they all three turned or twisted to see what was causing the commotion at the end of the dock where the ship was moored.

Ein had been dropped to the deck or perhaps had leapt to escape the monster that was hot on his furry little heels.

In an outfit considerably tattered, with her headband gone and what looked like the remnants of a face mask peeling off half her face, covered in dirt and tar and gravel and pawprints and scratches and various spilt liquids - none of which Spike wanted to speculate on - and with streaks of nail polish along fingers which were outstretched into claws towards Ein, was Faye.

Spike put two and two together with ease. She'd been trying to spoil herself at a salon while getting Ein's nails clipped and things had gotten out of control. Possibly involving a construction site or road work, given the tar and gravel. A glance down at the rapidly approaching Ein showed that he was filthy as well, covered in dirt and globs of partially dried nail polish or possibly hair dye or maybe some of that green muck off Faye's face. Clearly he'd led her on a merry chase and neither were better off for it.

Ed shrieked and toppled backwards into the water. Jet seemed dumbfounded for an instant but then started laughing so hard he nearly fell into the water as well. Spike, keen on avoiding Faye's wrath, kept his face neutral as she stalked across the deck. Ein raced along just ahead of her.

Glaring heatedly at both Jet and Spike, even though Spike was still being careful not to react, Faye had almost reached Ein when he darted to safety behind Jet's legs.

"Never again," She hissed. "That little asshole just cost me so much money and got me banned - BANNED - from the salon for life." She glowered at the data dog and then pushed between Spike and Jet to kneel at the edge of the deck. "She can swim, yeah?"

Jet blanched, dropping to his knees to look as well.

Spike knew from their camping exploits that Ed could swim fine and he'd even seen her come up and make her way towards the ladder that extended into the water over on the side of the ship. He was surprised the others didn't remember the adventure down the river, but then again he wasn't sure if they knew she'd been swimming for part of it and not just washed away.

Acting on an impulse he was sure he'd come to regret, Spike pushed Faye into Jet and then over the edge. Unable to keep his balance, Jet toppled too. Spike laughed. It was definitely going to land him in hot water, but the argument he spun up in his head in his own defense was logical. It made more sense to get Faye rinsed off quick rather than having her leave a trail of dirt and debris all the way to the shower. Jet falling in also was a bonus that he'd probably have to answer for too, but still worth it.

"The kid's fine," Spike announced once their heads broke the surface. He tilted his head towards the ladder, where Ein was already waiting. Hell, he should get up and toss Ein in too.

Jet began to swim over to the ladder, bitching about water and rust and his metal arm. For a second Spike felt bad, but then he remembered that Jet showered all the time. Water wasn't a big deal, the hassle was more to do with the weight of the arm itself throwing off his swimming abilities and the fact that it frequently locked up.

Faye continued to tread water below him. The face mask had been lost completely - he assumed it either dissolved or reverted to a liquid, but he wasn't particularly familiar with the pastes women put on their faces. He couldn't see any more of her than her irate face, but the furious look in her eyes gave him an excited shiver. Oh yes, he was going to be paying for this.

xxx

On the Bebop

Later That Day

He hadn't gone out of his way to avoid her, but it was still somehow hours before Spike had a chance to face the music for knocking Faye into the water. Jet had climbed up the ladder and tossed him in, fishing pole and all, before stomping off in a huff but at least Spike knew that things were fine between them after that immediate backlash for his little fun.

Ed had thought the whole thing a game and had jumped in again - with Ein in her arms - once she reached the deck. She'd started doing cannonballs but soon was doing dives after Spike showed her a few. By the time they'd gone to get cleaned up and to put dry clothes on, Faye and Jet and Ein had long since been inside.

Faye had sat by him for dinner - which was again noodles and peppers, clearly money was tight as usual - but everyone had been fairly quiet. She'd somehow finished eating before him for once - maybe because he kept eyeing her, expecting retaliation. But she had simply eaten in silence and had then made herself scarce.

Neither Jet nor Ed seemed to think anything amiss - or at least neither side eyed him when Faye departed, nor did their eyes follow in her wake as though awaiting an explosion. Their unaffected behavior made him think maybe he was reading too much into this. Maybe she was just tired and wasn't plotting some revenge. Or, a darker line of reasoning occurred to him... maybe she was giving him the cold shoulder because she'd had her fill of dealing with his teasing.

The anticipation he'd had for her reaction shifted gears on him, turning into anxiety instead. A much worse feeling and one he'd been trying to avoid by fishing today in the first place. Dancing at the Well on Jet's birthday aside, she'd been broody since Callisto and it was starting to make Spike distinctly nervous.

He was too full to work out but too amped up to keep sitting on the couch after dinner. Ed had conked out on the floor using Ein for a pillow. She'd managed to get him mostly cleaned but some of his fur was still marked by the nail polish. He hadn't tried to bite her when she attempted to brush it out, but he'd barked until even Ed couldn't take it any longer and gave up.

Spike figured Jet could always use his bonsai scissors to cut out the offending patches but he hadn't wanted to contribute to Ein's bad day and so he hadn't suggested anything yet. And Jet himself was nodding off in the living room too, arms crossed loosely over his chest and chin sagging towards his chest.

Leaving them to their slumbers, Spike went to the hangar and smoked and thought. He thought about Faye and her behavior. He thought about the past few months and how simple it had been to slip into something... comfortable with her. Relaxed, easy going, even… happy.

She'd been so different since his showdown with Vicious. Since she'd run off to Earth and tried to fill in the blanks of her past. She had told him, before he left on that nearly lethal mission, that the Bebop was the only place she had to go to. He liked to think it was because she cared about them - about him - and chose a life here over one somewhere else because of the people here.

But perhaps her decision had been motivated by more than tender feelings. Having the assurance that she could hide from her debt while on board - how much had that played into her retreat back to the ship? With them, she had been safe from the consequences of fleeing her debt, at least insofar as they wouldn't turn her in for cash.

Suddenly that was no longer a concern she had to deal with.

Jet had been keeping up with Andy. So far there hadn't been any charges brought against the high profile families involved in the asteroid disaster, except in regards to the cattle theft. While nothing had happened to those responsible, there also hadn't yet been any fallout for the people forced to participate. There'd been no compensation for participation of course, but bounties had been voided and debts had truly been acquired and disposed of. Whether any of the deceased had families - and on top of that, whether anyone had been informed of their deaths, or offered something for the loss… he had no clue and doubted Andy knew anything about that either.

Spike knew as much as Faye about all this. Jet had told them both everything he had been informed of, after all. Which meant, even though he knew she wasn't happy about the circumstances of gaining her financial freedom, she no longer had that weight on her shoulders. More than that, she was no longer facing the threat of being turned in by any other bounty hunters - though her relatively low price tag had kept her fairly off the radar anyway. Still, she had her name cleared now and could make a fresh start.

Which made him wonder what she wanted to do now. Did she plan to stay? Was she going to just up and go like she'd been so prone to do before? Was there enough here on the ship to convince her to stay? Did he even want her to stay?

He only knew the answer to that last one.

Yes, he wanted her to stay. He was sure of that.

He wanted her to be there when he was up against the odds and all outta bullets and had to do some fast thinking to get them out of trouble. He wanted her covering his ass when they were in a dogfight with other zipcraft pilots, racing and shooting and saving each other. He wanted her careful hands patching up his wounds. He wanted her smug looks when she knew he was watching her walk by, and her provocative looks when she wordlessly invited him to bed, and her earnest looks when she was sharing something with him about her day.

There was so much more.

He thrived on her passionate approach to life. Her confidence was sometimes a boast rather than a reality, but she adamantly refused to be shamed and he admired that about her. Their banter had given him something to smile about long before his showdown, but now... talking with her, joking with her, confiding in her… it sparked something in his heart that he felt he should be intimidated by. Oddly though it sort of soothed him. He hadn't been lying when he told Jet it felt good to let someone in.

But how far had he let her in?

They'd jumped into bed and hadn't worried about or talked about what they expected in the future. He'd made damn sure that she wanted it, wanted him, every time he'd brought her pleasure, but that didn't mean she was tied to him in any sense. She could decide to try her luck elsewhere now that she was free. Find a more stable lifestyle, find a better man who could treat her like the royalty she often fancied herself to be - to treat her the way she deserved.

Neither of them had mentioned commitment. Spike hadn't thought it something he was even after, but that was because he was a fool. He'd forgotten how devoted he could become to another person once they'd shared so much. Had forgotten how emotional attachment only drove home how much he had to lose. And frankly the idea of suggesting commitment to someone as fickle as Faye was ludicrous. She abhorred being shackled to anything and shrugged off responsibility like a coat that no longer fit. So, naturally, they hadn't discussed potentials and possibilities... naturally, they had let their actions do the talking for them.

So much of their relationship was touch.

Touch and shared looks.

They could communicate remarkably well without words, but he was learning words were important too. He'd felt off kilter the last few days. Not sick, thankfully, but exhausted. He wasn't positive but he suspected he'd been having nightmares and he thought he'd uncovered the problem at last. Uncertainty over the future - specifically, a future with Faye - was bleeding into his subconscious. He only really had bad dreams when he was stressed or depressed or hurt. And lately he really felt like he'd been happy - happy with her. Since he also wasn't hurt, that only left one answer.

It had been years since he'd dared to dream of a future with someone. That had not gone well for him and he'd shied away from believing there was any sort of future for himself, let alone a happy one. And now? He'd only just begun to look forward to things again. After years of apathy and a genuine disinterest in how his own life played out, it was disarming to discover the urge to pursue his own happiness. To let himself invest in someone else. To trust someone with his heart.

But he was an ass. He'd pushed Faye into the water of the harbor when she was only trying to check on Ed, after what had obviously been an epic struggle with Ein. And that was just today. He'd been a jerk countless times before. Turning off the hot water when she was showering - something that made him feel sick with guilt just remembering how many times he'd done that, especially when he now knew how much that bothered her, on a level she couldn't even control. Stealing her smokes or booze and... sure, she did the same right back... but it was just another strike against him.

He was tired of overthinking this.

It was time to find Faye.

xxx

Her eyes were on the windows when she heard his quiet footsteps on the stairs. Steady, but heavier than usual. He'd been strangely silent during dinner but then again none of them had been particularly talkative. She assumed he was worried about what she'd do to him for being shoved overboard, but surprisingly she didn't actually have anything in mind.

It had been a shock to hit the water and absolutely she'd been mad at first, but after Jet pitched Spike in as well, it had turned into something more amusing than anything else. After the frankly ridiculous stunts Ein had pulled, getting submerged in the water had taken her out of her rage and put her into a more thoughtful state.

She spent long enough in the shower that there wasn't any hot water when Jet tried to hop in next. He'd hollered at her loudly enough that she'd been able to hear from her room where she'd retreated to put antibiotics on her various scrapes and scratches.

No point in seeing if dogs had their own version of cat scratch fever.

While she did that she had thought back to the previous evening and waking up in the middle of the night…

She jerked awake with a start, her heart racing and her mind stumbling over what had happened to jolt her from her slumber. Had it been a bad dream? But, no… she couldn't remember any details of a dream.

Awareness trickled in as she became cognizant of choppy breathing next to her and a tense figure shifting restlessly. Thrashing, really. Spike's bare upper body was covered in sweat and his expression was a disturbing combination of distraught and angry.

She carefully slipped out of bed. Now that was an acrobatic feat Ed would be proud of considering how wedged into the space between the wall and Spike she had been. It wouldn't be smart to brush against Spike right now - she knew this from personal experience. He had been a well trained killing machine and that sort of conditioning doesn't just go away when you change your lifestyle to something moderately less bloody.

He'd nearly given her a black eye the time she'd tentatively tried to wake him during one of these dreams, during his stint on the couch healing from the wounds he'd gotten at the Tower. The nightmares plagued him more during recovery periods and it had been a long while since she'd seen him dealing with one while he was uninjured. Thankfully, she had sorted out a solution to this dilemma that had worked a handful of times now, whether he was on the couch or in bed.

Hmm. Something that starts off low and slow, easing into the ear and triggering something soothing. Miles Davis? No, something newer… Yoko Kanno, yes. A smooth jazz piece with the wail of a sad sax. Space Lion for her space cowboy.

There was never complete darkness in Spike's room so she had no trouble discerning where the stereo was and getting something playing through the speakers quietly.

It was mesmerizing to watch the moment the music hit him and registered subconsciously. Tension oozed out of him like a vengeful spirit leaving an unwilling host as he collapsed onto the mattress, chest still heaving but his breathing would calm down soon. She left the room to fetch a washcloth and dampen it with cool water.

Returning silently, she gently wiped off his face and neck, his chest and shoulders and arms. He was overheated but this would bring his temperature back to something approaching normal. He sighed in his sleep as she worked, mumbling nothing coherent but responding positively to her ministrations. A smile curled her lips.

He was always so tightly wound, even though he gave off every appearance of being lazy and without care. Sleeping deeply was something neither of them were much accustomed to but here he was drowsing right through her tender care. There was something so powerful about having him trust her to be there at his side through the night. Not only that but knowing he drew such reassurance from her presence… it was a heady feeling.

Setting aside the washcloth, she climbed confidently back onto the bed and tucked herself into the gap again. He'd woken once before when she was tentative about it, but for some reason he tended to sleep through her return when she wasn't shy about it. His arms automatically wrapped around her as she settled in. Nuzzling her hair, he gave a happy little sigh and relaxed further.

"Mm, Faye," Her name fell from his lips carelessly, absently, full of love. She stilled, her heart pounding again. This was a new development. She'd never heard her own name from him in his sleep. Was he awake? But...no, his breathing was still regular.

Had she been in his bad dream? She devoutly hoped not. But... it seemed like she did feature prominently as a source of respite. She kissed his chest as she snuggled closer and let out a happy sigh. Maybe both their dreams would be good ones now.

He had seemed to sleep well after that, but now she could see him entering the bridge where she'd gone to watch the sunset, and his reflection was one of a worn out man. His hands were stuffed in his pockets and his shoulders slumped. A tingle of alarm went through her. She was never sure how to deal with a despondent Spike and that was definitely the vibe she was getting from him now.

Fair's fair though - he'd put up with her moodiness the last couple of weeks. Between her drinking to excess to handle her somewhat irrational fear of Venus, to her cranky intolerance of the cold and her extreme irritability over that weakness also, and her residual grief when confronted with her memories of the Blue Crow and Gren… well, with all that she knew she'd been a pill. But he'd accepted her anger, had given in to her demands, had let her go through whatever she needed to without pushing her to share and without judging her for her ugly moods.

She was grateful for that. She hadn't wanted to talk shit out, had just needed to wallow for a bit in her unhappiness - to let it exist within her without fighting it for once. It was important to sit with your negative emotions sometimes, to sift through and sort them out and address what was at heart for her tears or her helplessness or her general emotional rawness.

He had held her, had been full of wisecracks to distract her when she was getting too morose, had been tolerant of her unease and adjusted his own reactions to her accordingly. Where once he'd been brusque, or even cavalier in dealing with her, he'd now been patient and full of consideration. Spike was a very thoughtful man, even if he tried to play it off like he didn't give a damn about himself or anyone else. Though, he'd certainly been shifting away from that shitty persona.

She watched his reflection in the window walk towards her but then come to a stop while he was still several feet away. His face turned from her to look out the windows as well. Given how touchy-feely Spike tended to be, his distance now filled her with a sense of foreboding.

They stood in a fragile sort of silence for a while, just existing in the same place and watching the twilight spill into dusk.

She wasn't sure how to fill the quiet and so she waited for him to take the initiative. If he'd come so far as to approach her here on the bridge, surely that same impetus would drive him to speak first and give her an idea of what sort of conversation awaited them.

She was proven right a minute later when he cleared his throat and then, still staring fixedly outside, spoke up at last.

"Do you still think about running? You're debt free after all... nothing to keep you here." His words were thrown out in an offhand manner, but she could tell it was for show.

His breathing had changed. She doubted anyone else would have been able to tell. But there had been a hitch. A moment when trepidation had stolen the regularity of his inhale and exhale.

Running? Leaving the Bebop? Leaving the only place she really knew - the only place she felt truly secure - the only place that gave her a sense of home and belonging?

Did he know her at all?

Or did he know her too well?

No. She was past all that now. He was just confusing the distrustful and flighty Faye that she had once been with new improved Faye - the one who her teammates could rely on, the one who people wanted around. She thought he had seen her for who she had become. What had happened? What had changed?

Her mind turned over his words, seeking the motivation behind his question.

He'd said debt free. Like she'd only stuck around to avoid her debt collectors? But... she had never really given a damn about that - not until she'd decided on a whim to clear her name for the sake of having a clean slate. Not to bail. Not to run off to ...where? To do what? Even when she'd tried at first to get a job after being woken up, there hadn't been shit for options. And nowadays she couldn't imagine being anything other than a bounty hunter.

He remained quiet while these thoughts tore through her head. Quiet, but she could tell now that his eyes weren't on the deepening dark outside but rather on her own reflection in the glass, just as she was watching his.

He'd respect her desire to leave.

He'd give her up if she wanted freedom to chase her own dreams.

That noble ass.

She couldn't stand not looking at him directly any longer and spun around. He didn't move, so she stepped over to stand in front of him.

A flicker of emotion in his real eye brought something home to her.

He was steeling himself for it. Perhaps expected her to drop him now that she wasn't as pinned to this life, to this ship.

Fury welled up in her at how easily he dismissed his own value.

How he clearly didn't think he deserved happiness after all. But how to tell him? How to get it through his thick head? Touch apparently wasn't enough. But maybe he'd be willing to believe her words for once. It couldn't hurt to reinforce her actions with an explanation, even if it made her uneasy to reveal her whole hand.

But... They weren't competing. And this wasn't a game. It had been, perhaps, at first. No longer.

She didn't want to see sadness in his eyes again. That apathy that was a far cry from the carelessness he'd been so partial to before Vicious sliced him up. It hurt her heart to remember how disconsolate he'd been for weeks. How he had barely been motivated to heal - convinced he was more trouble than he was worth.

With the cocktail mix of painkillers he'd been on at first, followed by a plunge into alcoholism for a week straight, she didn't think he even remembered those arduous days. But she remembered. She had been sure he wouldn't kill himself, not after they'd done so much to keep him alive, but she wasn't at all sure he'd ever be himself again. And now… he'd come so far. He'd chosen to live not just for them but for himself.

"Oh Spike," She murmured fondly, stepping even closer so her chest brushed against his with every swell of their synced breathing. It was instinct on her part to match him. Instinct which led her to raise both arms so she could thread her fingers into his hair above his ears. She looked him square in the eye so he could see how serious she was. "Why would I want to leave when everything I know… and everyone I care about… is right here? Why should I leave when it's just now getting good?"

His breathing staggered again. A quick intake as though her words had surprised him. Emotions paraded across his face in a flash, but she caught them all. Relief. Then self reprobation. Next was despair. Then, his hands twitching on her hips where they'd fallen automatically once she was close enough, tentative hope. Lastly, a growing resolve.

Her heart fluttered with satisfaction. No doubt she'd have to convince him again and again to ignore the mean-spirited inner voice that they both struggled with, but she would do it every single time. He meant so much to her, which meant his peace of mind was important and so too was his willingness to seek out and experience joy. A memory bubbled up - a song she'd heard once… in her previous life? She couldn't remember the circumstances, perhaps it had been in a movie she'd watched once in this life. But the lyrics nudged at her and she decided to really throw Spike for a loop, and herself for that matter.

With a tremulous voice that grew stronger as she went on, Faye looked him dead in the eyes and sang softly. "When the road gets dark… and you can no longer see… just let my love throw a spark, and have a little faith in me. When the tears you cry are all you can believe… just give these loving arms a try, baby, and have a little faith in me… When your secret heart cannot speak so easily… come here, darling, from a whispered start… and have a little faith in me. And when your back's against the wall, just turn around and you will see… I will catch you, I will catch your fall, baby, just have a little faith in me…"

His eyebrows had risen nearly to his hairline. He'd held his breath when she started singing and it whooshed out of him in a rush now as his hands moved from her hips to wrap around her and bring her flush against him. There was more to the song, but he was kissing her now, kissing her like she was the very breath he needed to survive - like he couldn't stand another moment without her lips on his, his tongue dancing with hers, her body twined around his.

They stumbled together, locked in their wanton embrace, until they reached the windows and he had her pressed against the glass. It was cool at her back but he was an inferno lighting her on fire as well. Surely they'd burn up in this all-consuming passion. But no, all it was doing was ravaging any lingering doubts she might have had about his desire to be with her, wholly. She trusted that it was doing the same for him.

She still hadn't had a chance to confront him about rushing after her when she'd been taken. To impress upon him just how much it had meant to her. She'd been concerned that her issues were too numerous, too trifling, and that he would consider being with her too much a bother. His willingness to get embroiled in her problems had broken something inside of her - a protective shield she had kept around her heart. She wanted to tell him all of that, but not now. Not when it seemed as though she had finally shattered some of his own insecurities.

No, right now she just wanted to meet his ardent desire with her own considerable affection.

Fuck, call it what it was… Love.

xxx

In Spike's Room

Much Later…

Spike had one arm behind his head and the other wrapped around Faye's shoulders. She was tucked against his side, her cheek resting on his chest, and kept lazily moving a cigarette from her mouth to his with her right hand. It was her only free appendage as she was lying on her left side and had her legs entwined with his.

It was while she had the cigarette between her own lips, her right hand momentarily free to trail lightly across his left pectoral muscle, when he broke the silence of their post coital relaxation.

"Are we bad at communicating?" The fingers of his right hand danced along her side, almost tickling her. It had surprised her to learn he was the more ticklish of the two of them.

She stopped playing with his pecs to take the cigarette from her mouth and sat up to lean across him and butt it out in the ashtray. Exhaling smoke, she shifted to lean back against the wall, draping her legs across his upper thighs, so she could look at him more easily.

"Communicating? Mm," She reached out with her left hand to rest her palm on his hip bone and ghost her finger pads against his skin, making him shiver. Her smile was pure sin. "No, we're very good at communicating. But…" and here she grew more serious, letting her smile turn rueful. "We could do better with talking."

He gazed at her steadily and put his right hand on top of her hand at his hip, threading their fingers together.

"You're so fucking beautiful, Faye,"

She blushed. "That's not exactly what I was getting at by talking, but I'll take it." It was remarkably warm in his room, although maybe she was still heated up from their exertions. She tried to make a mental note to wake up early to wipe off the bridge windows before anyone else went and saw the smudges they'd left. Afterwards, they'd barely made it to one of their bedrooms before he was on her again - or, well, she'd actually been the initiator that time. He'd just looked so adorably mussed, his face flushed with color and his hair a riot, and then her eyes had been drawn down to the smooth slope of his bare back - faintly scratched - and she'd wanted to feel his muscles tightening and stretching and straining and slick with sweat...

Anyway! Her cheeks were already hot from his compliment, she didn't need to get sidetracked down a path of arousal again. They'd communicated plenty, it was time to talk. She wanted to be forthright with him and with herself, therefore she needed to start being honest about her feelings.

The warmth of his room had very little to do with the temperature. It was her contentment - sitting nude alongside this devilishly handsome man - that was responsible. To know when his eyes looked at her, he became filled with insatiable hunger. To know his clever mind found her captivating and that he considered her an intellectual equal - or, well, at least capable of holding her own in their verbal spats. Which were really just another form of foreplay they engaged in.

She was getting lost in her thoughts again. He was awfully distracting in all the best ways. But dammit that's what she needed to tell him, not keep private to herself.

"You overwhelm me sometimes. In the best of ways," She rushed her words, not wanting him to get the wrong idea and become withdrawn. "I've never - in all my memories, in my time since the tube… I've never had anyone look at me like you do. I've never had anyone listen to me and hear me so well." She gripped his hand tightly. "I… wanted to thank you for coming to help me in the games. I don't think I ever did. I know I was a mess for a bit afterwards but… you came for me. You could have left me on my own, or charged in later, or not even tried to find me if you'd assumed I just dashed off like usual. And... I would've been stuck there on my own. Might even still have been there or worse."

He sat up as well, keeping hold of her hand but using his now free left hand to cradle her face. "I told you I'd have your back, Faye." He said solemnly. "You mean an awful lot to me." His impassioned gaze on her was saying she meant far more than just 'an awful lot' but before she could say something teasing like 'is that all,' his expression had grown sad. "I shouldn't have been an ass to you for so long. You came after me with Tongpu, with Vicious… you literally stitch me up when I'm falling apart… and the shit you and Jet had to put up with…"

She leaned her head away from his hand and used her free hand to shove him forcefully in the chest until he was reclined again, watching her warily. She hadn't let go of his right hand with her left one but kept her own right hand holding him solidly to the mattress, though he wasn't trying to wrest himself free.

Faye stared down at him with narrowed eyes. "Don't try to make me into some saint or good girl - I started shit with you just as much as you did with me. And you know what? I like it. It's fun when you challenge me. I enjoy giving you shit and making you mad. And, sure, you're an ass sometimes but you're a badass more and that's who I need at my side. Someone strong enough to handle what I get into. Someone who can keep me from getting myself killed. Someone to let me be me, not just me at my best but me at my worst too."

His mismatched gaze remained fixed on her face, his thumb stroking against her hand in what she knew was a nervous gesture but one that just so happened to bring them both comfort.

"You're one of the only people I know as reckless as me," He confided. "But you've got even more courage than I do. You've always had the courage to feel. Faye, the shit I put you through," He yelped when she pinched his nipple with the hand still on his chest. "Er, the shit we've been through… You're tough and you're fun and you're quick-witted, but most of all you're courageous. Hell, you've given me the courage to go after what I want - to put myself on the line, because maybe what's next is even better than this. Maybe it's worth the effort. I want to see where it goes from here - where we go from here." He gave her a tender smile. "I wanna know everything there is to know about you, Faye. Including the stuff you haven't figured out yet. The stuff we can figure out together."

She sighed in relief and took both her hands to thread into his hair as she let herself slump against him, laying her head on his chest so she could listen to his heartbeat as she scratched at his scalp and gripped fistfuls of his hair. He wrapped his arms around her and bent his head down to kiss the crown of her head. A thought occurred to her and in her newfound decision to speak what was on her mind, she spoke.

"So… tell me something, Spike. Did this all start - your deep dark thoughts - because I didn't retaliate after you pushed me in the water? If you want a prank war I will give you a prank war."

He chuckled but then sighed. "No. Well, yeah. Kinda. I mean… we kept dragging you places you hate. Venus, Callisto… and you've been putting up with it, putting up with me…"

"Putting up with it and you, hey? So… you don't think I had fun creaming you in that snowball fight? Or the night in the jacuzzi where you convinced me to jump into the snow and then back into the hot tub?" She shivered in delight at the memory, pleased that for once it was a good chill. "Sure, I don't like Venus or Callisto, but you make the bad places better. And you bring me out of my sulky moods when the bad place is in my head. You are good for me. Whether you believe it or not."

He kept his right arm around her, stroking her back, but used his left to gently grab her chin and tilt her face upwards so she could see his face and the determination in his eyes. "Move in with me."

"What?" She was confused since they already live together.

"To my bedroom I mean. We're always crashing together anyway and Ed could use her own room and... I just want you here. With me. In our room."

She pounced on him in response, running her hands everywhere on his body, positively devouring his mouth with the kiss she laid on him. Talking was all well and good, but damn it was just so good to communicate with this man!

xxx

Gamble everything on love!