Disclaimers: Same as before.sadly.
Chapter Eight: Pleasure and Pain
Jet
Jet ran down the alleyway, his breath coming hard from his lungs. His body and legs were moving on pure adrenaline now. His gun was bobbing in his hands as he ran. In front of him was Jimmy Nash, his bounty. He, Spike and Faye had split the Three Strikes Gang three ways. And Jet was supposed to bring in Jimmy. He had been running after this guy for nearly a half an hour. His clothes smelled of the garbage he had trekked through fifteen minutes earlier. "Stop!" Jet yelled as he brought his gun up. He took aim but considering he was running full on, his shot went wide and hit a trash can.
Jimmy Nash turned back and fired a couple of wild shots back into the alley. Jet bent his head low, but kept on going. Jimmy being turned around didn't see the large truck that had pulled out and blocked his path. Jet's face hurt for the kid when he hit nose first off the truck. Nash went down in a heap on the ground holding his hand to his nose. Many a fearful curse words rambled from his mouth. Jet slowed his pace and walked up to the guy. "Didn't you hear me yell stop." Jet said catching his breath. His gun drawn, feet spread wide. Nash groaned and looked up at Jet through his spread fingers, blood gushing from his broken nose. Suddenly Nash brought up a foot and kicked Jet in a quite tender area. Jet crumpled over on himself, singing out in a loud grunt. Nash scrambled to his feet and ran to the ladder that led up the roof of the building beside them. "Oh you're dead now, kid." Jet said running after him, a slight limp hindering him slightly. That was going to leave a bruise. Jet scrambled up the ladder, his gun hitting off the metal. Just as Nash reached the top and was about to step out on to the roof, Jet's hand shot out and grabbed him around the ankle. Nash went face first into the roof, and stayed that way. Jet came up and cuffed the kid while he was laying there. "That's what you get." Jet said sitting down on the edge of the roof. "What kind of man hits another man like that?" Jet said kicking the kid in the side to turn him over.
Nash's baby blue eye's were glazed over with pain. His short blond hair had streaks of blood going through it from his nose. He smiled up at Jet a tooth falling out of his mouth. Nash groaned and closed his eyes. "I'm not a bad guy, I can't handle prison." Nash said, tears glimmering on his eyes. "Jesus, kid," Jet said putting his metallic hand to his bald sweating head. "You should have thought about that before you started robbing people." "I know, I know. But we never really hurt people." Nash said opening his eyes and looking at Jet.
Ten minutes later.
"You see the problem is they just don't listen. They eat all my food, get me into tons of trouble and don't listen." Jet said taking a hit from his cigarette. " I just don't know what to do with them." He held the cigarette down and held it up to Nash's mouth. "I understand completely." Nash said taking a hit, and letting it out. He shifted his back against the wall a little, his hands cuffed behind his back scraping slightly. "It's the same way with Dino and Ricky. They have all these hair-brained schemes and I have to go along with them." Nash looked up at Jet's face above his. Jet was still sitting on the edge of the roof. "But I think you win, buddy. At least mine are both guys. Add a chick in there and everything goes to hell." "Yeah. You can say that again." Jet said taking a deep hit on his cigarette. "When it was just me and Spike everything was cool. No weird silences on the ship. Either we talked or we didn't, there wasn't that extra something in the air." Nash nodded as Jet continued. "I liked it when it was just the two of us. As soon as those women showed up everything went to hell." Nash nodded. "Sounds like this Faye chick is a pain in the ass." Nash said with a smile.
"Definitely." Jet said leaning back a little on the ladder handles. "But Spike's no spring morning. He can be about as much a pain as that woman. If not more, especially when he gets on these death kicks he has." "So you think your life would be better without them?" Nash asked turning a little to look at Jet. "Sometimes. Sometimes I think I could have a semi-normal life again. Maybe put down anchor somewhere and become a fisherman or something." "I don't see you as a fisherman, Mr. Black." Nash said with a smile. "Wouldn't you miss them, even a little?" Jet looked up at the sky, small white flowers began to fall. He finally nodded. "Yeah. I would." Jet said placing his cigarette in his mouth again and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, then I guess some pains are worth experiencing." Nash said. Jet reached down and grabbed Nash by the cuffs and hauled him to his feet. "Yeah. I hope the pain doesn't end up killing me." Jet chucked his cigarette over the building and pushed the Hammerhead's remote. "Hey, aren't you going to let me go? I thought we were buddies now?" Nash said a little excited. Jet just laughed. "After the chase you gave me, hell no. You're going to jail. Your pain's in the ass will be joining you shortly. Then you can decide if THEY were a pain worth having." Jet pulled Nash to the other end of the roof where the Hammerhead was waiting.
Faye
Faye had been walking around the city for the last hour searching for a place to eat. Her philosophy right this minute, let the money come to you. She strode in a small family owned restaurant called Simon's. Her legs clad in well worn and slightly dulled jeans, a black tight fitting t-shirt that showed just a bit of her belly, bandage newly removed. Her shoulder was missing the sling, and was almost completely back to normal. Except for the small pains she got every now and then. She really needed a massage. Faye shook her head, the last thing she needed was a massage. A gray men's dress shirt was tied around her waist hiding her gun. Her job was to find Ricky Fleck. The only thing she had to go on was the fact that his family owned a restaurant in town. So she had spent the entire hour visiting restaurant after restaurant. She hadn't eaten anything all day, which was just sad considering she was in a restaurant most of the day. She went over to an empty table and sat down. A young woman came over and smiled. Faye gave her order and sat, her hands on her cheeks. Elbows keeping her head from smacking against the table.
Faye looked to her right where a couple were arguing. Her eyes narrowed and then widened. There sitting, fighting with a pretty little blond girl was Ricky Fleck. She sat there stunned for a moment. "You son of a bitch!!" the girl yelled as she stood up. "I can't believe you. What do you think I'll just wait around forever." Fleck stood up his hands out pleading for the young woman to stop. Lucky for them the crowd wasn't all that big, just a handful of people here and there. "Baby, please," Fleck said rounding the table and approaching the woman. "Don't baby me you prick!" Wham!!! She slugged him, sent him careening into the table behind him, knocking it down with him. The woman fixed her skirt and turned around her nose in the air, head held high. Faye smiled and walked over to the body of Fleck. She bent down, and smiled even wider. She had knocked him out with one punch. Faye looked back to the door caught the woman's retreating form and gave her a small salute with her gun. She bent down and put the cuffs on Fleck, just as she snapped the other bracelet on his wrist his eyes came open wide. "What the hell?" Fleck said. Faye smiled and put her gun against the side of his cheek. "Surprise Ricky," She said. He gave a loud groan and slammed his head back against the overturned table behind him.
Twenty minutes later
"We haven't said more than two words to each other since," Faye said from her perch on the wooden chair. A cigarette hung from her lips as she looked down. "Sucks to be you," Fleck said in a mocking tone. "How does that help me," Faye yelled as she leaned further down so her face was closer to his. "Who the hell said I wanted to help you?" Fleck yelled back. "I helped you with you problem with the girl," Faye said pulling back a little. "The least you could do is listen. I mean listening was your problem in the first place." Fleck sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you want me to say. I'm not a glowing endorsement for relationship council as you saw," Fleck pointed with cuffed hands towards the door. But if you want to know what I think. I think this Spike guy sounds like an idiot. You on a couch, you alone anywhere and he doesn't try anything for almost two years. Damn fool." "I don't think he's ever forgiven me." Faye said in a small voice. "He says it doesn't matter, says its no big deal. But I don't think he believes it." "What did you do, boink some other guy?" Fleck said shifting a little against the overturned table. "I saved his life." Faye said taking a drag off her cigarette. "And he's mad about that? What is this guy loony or something." Fleck asked, leaning forward a bit. "He wanted to die. To be with her." Faye said looking over at Fleck. "He's not loony, he was in love. Still is. He wanted to be with her, and I took that away. I saved him, and I don't think he's ever forgiven me." "He kissed you didn't he? That doesn't sound like the actions of a man who hates you." Fleck said with a smile. "Shit, sounds like he likes you. And you love him right?" "I don't," Faye stopped looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't want to cause him pain. Not anymore." "Damn you have one messed up life, sweetheart." Fleck said. "You don't want to cause him pain. And then you think about going away after something else has started between the two of you. Did you ever think that you could take away the pain?" "No, I didn't. We always torture one another," Faye said. Fleck raised eyebrows and smiled. "Not like that you little pervert! We're always joking and poking fun at each other. We don't really take each other seriously. We always pick fights with one another. Cause each other pain." "Pleasure, sweetheart," Fleck said sitting forward so his face was closer to Faye's legs. "You give him pleasure. He's happy when he's fighting with you. He's happy to be with you." Faye looked at the guy. "So you think the pain we cause each other with the fights is our way of what, having sex?" Faye said raising an eyebrow. "I think he does it to keep himself from having sex with you," Fleck said moving closer to her face. "He wants you." Faye sat back in the chair. "You're just saying that to make me feel better." Faye said standing up putting her cigarette out on the chair beside her. "Maybe. You gonna let me go." Fleck said with a big grin. "No." Faye said grabbing the cuffs and hauling him to his feet. "Worth a shot." Fleck said standing beside Faye now. "Hey, honey, if he rejects you, I can take away your pain." Fleck lifted his eyebrows a couple of times at her and smiled wide. Faye rolled her eyes and slugged him. He went crashing into the table again, and was knocked out She lifted him up and dragged him out of the building.
Spike
Spike entered the mall with one goal, catch Dino Stark. He was a short, round man with glasses, he should be easy to get. Spike's eyes roamed the mall, over women walking with children, and men with all the bags. He finally decided to look in the stores. He walked past some ten windows until he finally stopped in front of a woman's clothing store. Le Stuff. He rolled his eyes and looked at the little light blue dress in the window display. He thought about Faye in the dress, and then he mentally kicked himself. Three days ago he and Faye had got hot and bothered in the hangar bay, and now here he was thinking about how good she would look in a dress. He closed his eyes and turned. Just as he did, his eyes watched Dino Stark walk into Le Stuff. Spike's eyes went wide for a second, then he shrugged to no one and walked in.
He searched around the entire store, slowly. He watched some women run around pulling clothes off the rack. After about five minutes he got frustrated, he was the only guy in the place, and all the women were looking at him funny. He blew a tuft of his hair off his forehead as he searched around a little more. This guy shouldn't be that hard to find, just look for the only other man in the store. Spike watched as woman ran in and out of the fitting rooms, and suddenly he had an epiphany. He walked over to the fitting rooms and walked right in. Women screamed and ran out, but Spike paid them no mind. He looked under the stalls and found a pair of men's brown shoes. He smiled as he kicked open the door his gun drawn. "AHHHH!!!!" Dino Stark screamed like a woman. Spike's eyes widened in shock. The man was standing there in nothing but a pair of jeans and a woman's bra. A pink dress had made it halfway up his arms. The man's glasses fogged, and he looked at Spike's gun. A shaky rounded hand came up to point. "Is that a gun." And then he let out a yelp again, and went down to ground rocking on his side in a fetal position. Spike rolled his eyes and reached down to cuff him.
Twenty minutes later
"I haven't talked to her since," Spike said taking a hit from his cigarette. "Well, not seriously. Or one on one." "And I thought I was messed up." Stark said his cuffed hands sitting between his knees. Both men were huddled on the floor of the fitting room in Le Stuff. Spike was sitting in the exact same position just minus the cuffs, a cigarette hung from his fingers. "Dude, you're a wreck." "Its that damn woman's fault." Spike said "I would be fine if she wasn't around." "I hear you, woman aren't anything but trouble." Stark said. "I mean look at this," he said looking down at the bra he wore. "Even their clothes are trouble." Spike looked over at Stark with out turning his head. He raised a brow at the small round man sitting beside him in a bra and a pink zip up sweater. Spike had to give him something to cover up with. He just couldn't take it. "She's nothing but a pain." Spike said forgetting about the clothes statement made by Stark. "I'll bet. So how was she. I'll bet she's hot, right?" Stark said his voice getting excited. "Aren't you supposed to be helping?" Spike said narrowing his eyes and turning towards Stark. "Sorry." Stark put his head down and looked at his hands. "She's hot though, right?" Spike let out a disgruntled breath of nicotine. "Yeah, she's hot. That's the problem." Spike went back to staring at the mirror across from him. "Nothing has changed since I first met her. At least nothing I can see. She's still the same old Faye, loud, annoying, and goddamn beautiful." "I really don't see what the problem is here. You obviously like her and she definitely has a thing for you. Otherwise why would she almost.you know." Stark started making gestures with his cuffed hands. Spike rolled his eyes and thought about shooting him. "Sure there's an attraction. No one is denying that. I don't think we are," Spike said looking down at his cigarette burn away. "Then again, you really haven't talked to her." Spike looked over at the kid. "Yeah, right." Spike took a drag off his cigarette. "The problem is every time I look at her my heart hurts. Feels like damn heart burn." Stark started nodding and smiling. "That's not heartburn, that's love my bounty hunter friend." "I don't love her." Spike said flatly. "Oh really, then why do you think you are having such a problem with all this." Spike looked over at Stark and said nothing. He then turned his head back to the front a frown on his lips. "You have feelings for this, Faye." Stark looked at Spike. "There's a fine line, my friend. Pleasure and Pain. Pain from pleasure. You might not be wiling to admit you love her, but you have to admit, there's something there. Or else the pain is going to overtake the pleasure." Spike looked at the man in the pink zip up sweater and black bra and was amazed. Spike grabbed the cuffs and brought Stark to his feet. Stark didn't say anything, he just followed, in tow. Spike brought him out of the fitting rooms and saw the same dress he had been looking at in the window. "You think she would like it?" Spike asked. "I don't really know her, I just know its not my style." Stark said eyeing up the dress. "Good enough," Spike said grabbing the sundress from the rack.
Jet, Spike and Faye stood outside of the police building. Spike and Faye stood a couple feet away from Jet who still smelled like garbage. Jet had done a lot of mumbling when Spike and Faye told him of their amazingly simple grabs. Jet stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes downcast. Faye and Spike exchanged glances and grinned at their garbage smelling friend. "So did you have fun?" Spike asked Faye. "We know Jet did." He pointed at Jet beside him. Faye smiled. "Tons." She smiled over at Jet. "Not as much as him." "Enough. Is this going to be the big joke from now on?" Jet asked huffing as he looked from Spike's grinning face to Faye's. They shrugged. "Until Faye screws up again," Spike said lighting a cigarette. Jet laughed and Faye huffed. "Go to hell Spike," Faye said leaning in and stealing his cigarette from his lips. Jet laughed again and Spike merely frowned at his lost cigarette. He lit another one. "What took you guys so long if you had such easy catches?" Jet asked grabbing a cigarette from his pack. Spike held the lighter for him. "I don't know," Spike said leaning as he started down the steps. "I felt chatty." "You felt chatty," Jet said as he and Faye started down the stairs as well. "You. Mr. Mystery, felt chatty." Spike shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. Faye put her hands behind her head as she walked. Jet shrugged and laughed. "Strangely me too." Faye said looking up at the sky, little white flowers were falling on Venus. Spike looked over at her. "Yeah, maybe it was those guys. Maybe they have some power that makes you want to talk to them?" Jet said looking down at the steps as he walked. "Or maybe we just needed to talk to an objective third party." Spike said his cigarette bouncing on his lips. "I like the idea of them having strange powers better, sounds cooler." Faye said with a grin. "Ed would like that story." Jet laughed. "You just don't want to admit that you needed to talk to someone." Jet said poking her in the ribs. Faye looked over at Spike and caught his smiling eyes. She smiled and shrugged.
Just then the doors to the police station opened wide and the stopped in their tracks and looked back. "You don't have to be so rough," came Jimmy Nash's voice. The police were escorting the three members of the Three Strikes Gang down the stairs. "Oh, great," Spike said. His eyes caught a look at Dino Stark still dressed in a black lacy bra and a pink zip up sweater. Faye laughed and looked over at Spike. "That's who you chose to talk to?" She said between laughs, Jet was smirking beside her. "Shut up, Faye." Spike said flipping her off. The three men were just about to pass the bounty hunters that brought them in. "Hey, Mr. Black, is this them?" Nash said his eyes wide and innocent. Jet gave a slight nod at him. "Wow, not what I expected at all." His eyes roamed from Spike to Faye and lingered. "Nothing like what I expected." "Damn, you weren't kidding." Stark said as he passed, he bent in close to Spike as he passed and whispered, "Go for it." Spike came up and looked over at Faye who was looking at him with a confused face. Jet's expression matched hers. Spike shrugged and shoved his hands back in his pockets. "That bitch hit me," Fleck yelled as he passed. "I help her with her problems and she hits me." He was yelling, but he caught a look at Spike and Jet and stopped. "She's crazy. All of them are crazy. She told me about you," He said as he passed Spike. "You are a crazy son of a bitch. And you," He said turning his head towards Jet. "You I don't know, but you're crazy just for being with them." The police man hauled Fleck down the stairs. "You chose that to talk to," Jet said with a bit of a smirk. Faye shrugged and put her hands behind her head as she started down the stairs again. "What exactly did you tell him about me, Faye?" Spike asked turning towards her retreating form. She kept walking not paying attention to him. "Faye. Faye!" He started down the stairs. "Why did he call me crazy?" Spike was taking two steps at a time to catch up to her. Jet began walking down after them a smile on his face.
When they reached the Bebop they each went their separate ways. Jet went to go water his bonsais. Spike went to the common room and put his feet up, relaxing away the day. Faye went to take a shower. Faye made her way back to her room, her robe closed warm against her skin a towel around her wet hair. She pushed her door open and turned on the lights, a small gasp escaped her lips. A brown shopping bag was on her dresser, no note no nothing. She searched around the room, and around the bag for some kind of bomb. Maybe a joke from Ed. It had happened before. She finally gave up and was about to peek her head into the bag. She pushed past the tissue paper, and a smile hit her lips. She reached in and pulled out the sky blue sundress. The fabric was so soft, cotton and airy light. "Didn't know if you would like it?" Spike said from behind her. Faye gasped clutching the dress to her and turned to face him. He was leaning against her door frame his arms crossed over his chest, a small smile playing on his lips. "You?" Faye said her eyes narrowing in confusion. He nodded and took a step in the room. She pulled the dress away from her and looked at it. "Why?" Spike stopped a foot away from her. She looked up and met his eyes, and saw confusion in them. He shrugged. "I don't know," He said putting a hand through his unruly hair. "Saw it and thought of you. God that sounds corny." He let out an amused breath. "Yeah, it does." Faye said with a smile at him. She looked down at the dress. "Did your friend tell you what to buy me?" She smirked up at him. "He said he would never wear it, that made up my mind. I really didn't want to think of him in the dress too." Spike smiled. "What did you say to make that guy think I was crazy?" "I told him all about you," Faye said. "Its not my fault he saw you for what you really are." Faye smirked, she moved her fingers along the dress and looked down at it. "I didn't expect to run into philosophical bounties. He was actually helpful." Faye said still smiling at the dress. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Spike said putting a hand to the back of his head. He watched as Faye ran her fingers over the fabric of the cloth. He took a few steps towards her, she looked up and watched him her fingers still clutching the fabric. She thought he was going to take it back, and it showed on her face. "Its yours I bought it for you." He said with a smile. "Then why are you moving towards me with that look on your face. Like I stole something." She started moving backwards. "I didn't take any of your cigarettes I bought my own." Spike laughed and kept moving, he reached out and caught her by the elbow. He didn't bring her to him, he just held her in place.
"Someone told me that there is a fine line between pleasure and pain." Spike began a small smile on his lips again. "Sure that someone was a cross dressing fat man who liked to rob people. But still." Spike shrugged. "I believe him. It makes a lot of sense for us, Faye." Faye looked at him, her face still showing confusion. "What are you talking about?" She said trying to search his face for the answers. "It's a line I want to cross. A line I'm ready to cross." Spike said moving himself a little closer to her. Faye tried to step back but his hand held her firm. He moved in and brushed his lips softly over hers. She let out a breath and he kissed her. A small, soft kiss, one that would linger. He pulled away smiling at her, she looked up at him. "I don't feel the pain anymore." He moved in again. Faye took her one hand from the dress and put it to Spike's chest to stop him. He looked at her, confusion in his smirking eyes. "Don't you?" she said. "I think you do. You will always love her." Spike dropped his hand from her elbow and looked at her. "Its been six months, almost seven." Spike said. "I'm moving on Faye." He looked at her. "I will always love her, but I want to try and get over her." "Are you sure?" Faye said moving back a step. Spike let out a deep sigh, and looked at her, and didn't answer. He looked back to the ground, put a hand in his hair and let out another breath. Again meeting her eyes. "You aren't going to make this easy, are you?" He said with a bit of a smirk. "If there is anything I'm not, its easy Spike Spiegel." She smirked at him. And he smiled back at her. "Aint it the truth." He said as he turned to leave. He stopped in the door way and looked back at her, she was smiling at him. "I hope the dress fits." He said as he smiled and walked out the door. Faye looked down at the dress and smiled.
Well, there it is. A chapter with nothing in it. But I'm proud of myself with connecting the title again. Everyone see the fine line thing. Remember it from the earlier chapter? Ok, Next Chapter: Devil in a Blue Dress Don't miss it. Spike is trying to woo Faye.
Chapter Eight: Pleasure and Pain
Jet
Jet ran down the alleyway, his breath coming hard from his lungs. His body and legs were moving on pure adrenaline now. His gun was bobbing in his hands as he ran. In front of him was Jimmy Nash, his bounty. He, Spike and Faye had split the Three Strikes Gang three ways. And Jet was supposed to bring in Jimmy. He had been running after this guy for nearly a half an hour. His clothes smelled of the garbage he had trekked through fifteen minutes earlier. "Stop!" Jet yelled as he brought his gun up. He took aim but considering he was running full on, his shot went wide and hit a trash can.
Jimmy Nash turned back and fired a couple of wild shots back into the alley. Jet bent his head low, but kept on going. Jimmy being turned around didn't see the large truck that had pulled out and blocked his path. Jet's face hurt for the kid when he hit nose first off the truck. Nash went down in a heap on the ground holding his hand to his nose. Many a fearful curse words rambled from his mouth. Jet slowed his pace and walked up to the guy. "Didn't you hear me yell stop." Jet said catching his breath. His gun drawn, feet spread wide. Nash groaned and looked up at Jet through his spread fingers, blood gushing from his broken nose. Suddenly Nash brought up a foot and kicked Jet in a quite tender area. Jet crumpled over on himself, singing out in a loud grunt. Nash scrambled to his feet and ran to the ladder that led up the roof of the building beside them. "Oh you're dead now, kid." Jet said running after him, a slight limp hindering him slightly. That was going to leave a bruise. Jet scrambled up the ladder, his gun hitting off the metal. Just as Nash reached the top and was about to step out on to the roof, Jet's hand shot out and grabbed him around the ankle. Nash went face first into the roof, and stayed that way. Jet came up and cuffed the kid while he was laying there. "That's what you get." Jet said sitting down on the edge of the roof. "What kind of man hits another man like that?" Jet said kicking the kid in the side to turn him over.
Nash's baby blue eye's were glazed over with pain. His short blond hair had streaks of blood going through it from his nose. He smiled up at Jet a tooth falling out of his mouth. Nash groaned and closed his eyes. "I'm not a bad guy, I can't handle prison." Nash said, tears glimmering on his eyes. "Jesus, kid," Jet said putting his metallic hand to his bald sweating head. "You should have thought about that before you started robbing people." "I know, I know. But we never really hurt people." Nash said opening his eyes and looking at Jet.
Ten minutes later.
"You see the problem is they just don't listen. They eat all my food, get me into tons of trouble and don't listen." Jet said taking a hit from his cigarette. " I just don't know what to do with them." He held the cigarette down and held it up to Nash's mouth. "I understand completely." Nash said taking a hit, and letting it out. He shifted his back against the wall a little, his hands cuffed behind his back scraping slightly. "It's the same way with Dino and Ricky. They have all these hair-brained schemes and I have to go along with them." Nash looked up at Jet's face above his. Jet was still sitting on the edge of the roof. "But I think you win, buddy. At least mine are both guys. Add a chick in there and everything goes to hell." "Yeah. You can say that again." Jet said taking a deep hit on his cigarette. "When it was just me and Spike everything was cool. No weird silences on the ship. Either we talked or we didn't, there wasn't that extra something in the air." Nash nodded as Jet continued. "I liked it when it was just the two of us. As soon as those women showed up everything went to hell." Nash nodded. "Sounds like this Faye chick is a pain in the ass." Nash said with a smile.
"Definitely." Jet said leaning back a little on the ladder handles. "But Spike's no spring morning. He can be about as much a pain as that woman. If not more, especially when he gets on these death kicks he has." "So you think your life would be better without them?" Nash asked turning a little to look at Jet. "Sometimes. Sometimes I think I could have a semi-normal life again. Maybe put down anchor somewhere and become a fisherman or something." "I don't see you as a fisherman, Mr. Black." Nash said with a smile. "Wouldn't you miss them, even a little?" Jet looked up at the sky, small white flowers began to fall. He finally nodded. "Yeah. I would." Jet said placing his cigarette in his mouth again and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, then I guess some pains are worth experiencing." Nash said. Jet reached down and grabbed Nash by the cuffs and hauled him to his feet. "Yeah. I hope the pain doesn't end up killing me." Jet chucked his cigarette over the building and pushed the Hammerhead's remote. "Hey, aren't you going to let me go? I thought we were buddies now?" Nash said a little excited. Jet just laughed. "After the chase you gave me, hell no. You're going to jail. Your pain's in the ass will be joining you shortly. Then you can decide if THEY were a pain worth having." Jet pulled Nash to the other end of the roof where the Hammerhead was waiting.
Faye
Faye had been walking around the city for the last hour searching for a place to eat. Her philosophy right this minute, let the money come to you. She strode in a small family owned restaurant called Simon's. Her legs clad in well worn and slightly dulled jeans, a black tight fitting t-shirt that showed just a bit of her belly, bandage newly removed. Her shoulder was missing the sling, and was almost completely back to normal. Except for the small pains she got every now and then. She really needed a massage. Faye shook her head, the last thing she needed was a massage. A gray men's dress shirt was tied around her waist hiding her gun. Her job was to find Ricky Fleck. The only thing she had to go on was the fact that his family owned a restaurant in town. So she had spent the entire hour visiting restaurant after restaurant. She hadn't eaten anything all day, which was just sad considering she was in a restaurant most of the day. She went over to an empty table and sat down. A young woman came over and smiled. Faye gave her order and sat, her hands on her cheeks. Elbows keeping her head from smacking against the table.
Faye looked to her right where a couple were arguing. Her eyes narrowed and then widened. There sitting, fighting with a pretty little blond girl was Ricky Fleck. She sat there stunned for a moment. "You son of a bitch!!" the girl yelled as she stood up. "I can't believe you. What do you think I'll just wait around forever." Fleck stood up his hands out pleading for the young woman to stop. Lucky for them the crowd wasn't all that big, just a handful of people here and there. "Baby, please," Fleck said rounding the table and approaching the woman. "Don't baby me you prick!" Wham!!! She slugged him, sent him careening into the table behind him, knocking it down with him. The woman fixed her skirt and turned around her nose in the air, head held high. Faye smiled and walked over to the body of Fleck. She bent down, and smiled even wider. She had knocked him out with one punch. Faye looked back to the door caught the woman's retreating form and gave her a small salute with her gun. She bent down and put the cuffs on Fleck, just as she snapped the other bracelet on his wrist his eyes came open wide. "What the hell?" Fleck said. Faye smiled and put her gun against the side of his cheek. "Surprise Ricky," She said. He gave a loud groan and slammed his head back against the overturned table behind him.
Twenty minutes later
"We haven't said more than two words to each other since," Faye said from her perch on the wooden chair. A cigarette hung from her lips as she looked down. "Sucks to be you," Fleck said in a mocking tone. "How does that help me," Faye yelled as she leaned further down so her face was closer to his. "Who the hell said I wanted to help you?" Fleck yelled back. "I helped you with you problem with the girl," Faye said pulling back a little. "The least you could do is listen. I mean listening was your problem in the first place." Fleck sighed and rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you want me to say. I'm not a glowing endorsement for relationship council as you saw," Fleck pointed with cuffed hands towards the door. But if you want to know what I think. I think this Spike guy sounds like an idiot. You on a couch, you alone anywhere and he doesn't try anything for almost two years. Damn fool." "I don't think he's ever forgiven me." Faye said in a small voice. "He says it doesn't matter, says its no big deal. But I don't think he believes it." "What did you do, boink some other guy?" Fleck said shifting a little against the overturned table. "I saved his life." Faye said taking a drag off her cigarette. "And he's mad about that? What is this guy loony or something." Fleck asked, leaning forward a bit. "He wanted to die. To be with her." Faye said looking over at Fleck. "He's not loony, he was in love. Still is. He wanted to be with her, and I took that away. I saved him, and I don't think he's ever forgiven me." "He kissed you didn't he? That doesn't sound like the actions of a man who hates you." Fleck said with a smile. "Shit, sounds like he likes you. And you love him right?" "I don't," Faye stopped looking up at the ceiling. "I don't know." She shook her head. "I don't want to cause him pain. Not anymore." "Damn you have one messed up life, sweetheart." Fleck said. "You don't want to cause him pain. And then you think about going away after something else has started between the two of you. Did you ever think that you could take away the pain?" "No, I didn't. We always torture one another," Faye said. Fleck raised eyebrows and smiled. "Not like that you little pervert! We're always joking and poking fun at each other. We don't really take each other seriously. We always pick fights with one another. Cause each other pain." "Pleasure, sweetheart," Fleck said sitting forward so his face was closer to Faye's legs. "You give him pleasure. He's happy when he's fighting with you. He's happy to be with you." Faye looked at the guy. "So you think the pain we cause each other with the fights is our way of what, having sex?" Faye said raising an eyebrow. "I think he does it to keep himself from having sex with you," Fleck said moving closer to her face. "He wants you." Faye sat back in the chair. "You're just saying that to make me feel better." Faye said standing up putting her cigarette out on the chair beside her. "Maybe. You gonna let me go." Fleck said with a big grin. "No." Faye said grabbing the cuffs and hauling him to his feet. "Worth a shot." Fleck said standing beside Faye now. "Hey, honey, if he rejects you, I can take away your pain." Fleck lifted his eyebrows a couple of times at her and smiled wide. Faye rolled her eyes and slugged him. He went crashing into the table again, and was knocked out She lifted him up and dragged him out of the building.
Spike
Spike entered the mall with one goal, catch Dino Stark. He was a short, round man with glasses, he should be easy to get. Spike's eyes roamed the mall, over women walking with children, and men with all the bags. He finally decided to look in the stores. He walked past some ten windows until he finally stopped in front of a woman's clothing store. Le Stuff. He rolled his eyes and looked at the little light blue dress in the window display. He thought about Faye in the dress, and then he mentally kicked himself. Three days ago he and Faye had got hot and bothered in the hangar bay, and now here he was thinking about how good she would look in a dress. He closed his eyes and turned. Just as he did, his eyes watched Dino Stark walk into Le Stuff. Spike's eyes went wide for a second, then he shrugged to no one and walked in.
He searched around the entire store, slowly. He watched some women run around pulling clothes off the rack. After about five minutes he got frustrated, he was the only guy in the place, and all the women were looking at him funny. He blew a tuft of his hair off his forehead as he searched around a little more. This guy shouldn't be that hard to find, just look for the only other man in the store. Spike watched as woman ran in and out of the fitting rooms, and suddenly he had an epiphany. He walked over to the fitting rooms and walked right in. Women screamed and ran out, but Spike paid them no mind. He looked under the stalls and found a pair of men's brown shoes. He smiled as he kicked open the door his gun drawn. "AHHHH!!!!" Dino Stark screamed like a woman. Spike's eyes widened in shock. The man was standing there in nothing but a pair of jeans and a woman's bra. A pink dress had made it halfway up his arms. The man's glasses fogged, and he looked at Spike's gun. A shaky rounded hand came up to point. "Is that a gun." And then he let out a yelp again, and went down to ground rocking on his side in a fetal position. Spike rolled his eyes and reached down to cuff him.
Twenty minutes later
"I haven't talked to her since," Spike said taking a hit from his cigarette. "Well, not seriously. Or one on one." "And I thought I was messed up." Stark said his cuffed hands sitting between his knees. Both men were huddled on the floor of the fitting room in Le Stuff. Spike was sitting in the exact same position just minus the cuffs, a cigarette hung from his fingers. "Dude, you're a wreck." "Its that damn woman's fault." Spike said "I would be fine if she wasn't around." "I hear you, woman aren't anything but trouble." Stark said. "I mean look at this," he said looking down at the bra he wore. "Even their clothes are trouble." Spike looked over at Stark with out turning his head. He raised a brow at the small round man sitting beside him in a bra and a pink zip up sweater. Spike had to give him something to cover up with. He just couldn't take it. "She's nothing but a pain." Spike said forgetting about the clothes statement made by Stark. "I'll bet. So how was she. I'll bet she's hot, right?" Stark said his voice getting excited. "Aren't you supposed to be helping?" Spike said narrowing his eyes and turning towards Stark. "Sorry." Stark put his head down and looked at his hands. "She's hot though, right?" Spike let out a disgruntled breath of nicotine. "Yeah, she's hot. That's the problem." Spike went back to staring at the mirror across from him. "Nothing has changed since I first met her. At least nothing I can see. She's still the same old Faye, loud, annoying, and goddamn beautiful." "I really don't see what the problem is here. You obviously like her and she definitely has a thing for you. Otherwise why would she almost.you know." Stark started making gestures with his cuffed hands. Spike rolled his eyes and thought about shooting him. "Sure there's an attraction. No one is denying that. I don't think we are," Spike said looking down at his cigarette burn away. "Then again, you really haven't talked to her." Spike looked over at the kid. "Yeah, right." Spike took a drag off his cigarette. "The problem is every time I look at her my heart hurts. Feels like damn heart burn." Stark started nodding and smiling. "That's not heartburn, that's love my bounty hunter friend." "I don't love her." Spike said flatly. "Oh really, then why do you think you are having such a problem with all this." Spike looked over at Stark and said nothing. He then turned his head back to the front a frown on his lips. "You have feelings for this, Faye." Stark looked at Spike. "There's a fine line, my friend. Pleasure and Pain. Pain from pleasure. You might not be wiling to admit you love her, but you have to admit, there's something there. Or else the pain is going to overtake the pleasure." Spike looked at the man in the pink zip up sweater and black bra and was amazed. Spike grabbed the cuffs and brought Stark to his feet. Stark didn't say anything, he just followed, in tow. Spike brought him out of the fitting rooms and saw the same dress he had been looking at in the window. "You think she would like it?" Spike asked. "I don't really know her, I just know its not my style." Stark said eyeing up the dress. "Good enough," Spike said grabbing the sundress from the rack.
Jet, Spike and Faye stood outside of the police building. Spike and Faye stood a couple feet away from Jet who still smelled like garbage. Jet had done a lot of mumbling when Spike and Faye told him of their amazingly simple grabs. Jet stood with his arms crossed over his chest and his eyes downcast. Faye and Spike exchanged glances and grinned at their garbage smelling friend. "So did you have fun?" Spike asked Faye. "We know Jet did." He pointed at Jet beside him. Faye smiled. "Tons." She smiled over at Jet. "Not as much as him." "Enough. Is this going to be the big joke from now on?" Jet asked huffing as he looked from Spike's grinning face to Faye's. They shrugged. "Until Faye screws up again," Spike said lighting a cigarette. Jet laughed and Faye huffed. "Go to hell Spike," Faye said leaning in and stealing his cigarette from his lips. Jet laughed again and Spike merely frowned at his lost cigarette. He lit another one. "What took you guys so long if you had such easy catches?" Jet asked grabbing a cigarette from his pack. Spike held the lighter for him. "I don't know," Spike said leaning as he started down the steps. "I felt chatty." "You felt chatty," Jet said as he and Faye started down the stairs as well. "You. Mr. Mystery, felt chatty." Spike shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. Faye put her hands behind her head as she walked. Jet shrugged and laughed. "Strangely me too." Faye said looking up at the sky, little white flowers were falling on Venus. Spike looked over at her. "Yeah, maybe it was those guys. Maybe they have some power that makes you want to talk to them?" Jet said looking down at the steps as he walked. "Or maybe we just needed to talk to an objective third party." Spike said his cigarette bouncing on his lips. "I like the idea of them having strange powers better, sounds cooler." Faye said with a grin. "Ed would like that story." Jet laughed. "You just don't want to admit that you needed to talk to someone." Jet said poking her in the ribs. Faye looked over at Spike and caught his smiling eyes. She smiled and shrugged.
Just then the doors to the police station opened wide and the stopped in their tracks and looked back. "You don't have to be so rough," came Jimmy Nash's voice. The police were escorting the three members of the Three Strikes Gang down the stairs. "Oh, great," Spike said. His eyes caught a look at Dino Stark still dressed in a black lacy bra and a pink zip up sweater. Faye laughed and looked over at Spike. "That's who you chose to talk to?" She said between laughs, Jet was smirking beside her. "Shut up, Faye." Spike said flipping her off. The three men were just about to pass the bounty hunters that brought them in. "Hey, Mr. Black, is this them?" Nash said his eyes wide and innocent. Jet gave a slight nod at him. "Wow, not what I expected at all." His eyes roamed from Spike to Faye and lingered. "Nothing like what I expected." "Damn, you weren't kidding." Stark said as he passed, he bent in close to Spike as he passed and whispered, "Go for it." Spike came up and looked over at Faye who was looking at him with a confused face. Jet's expression matched hers. Spike shrugged and shoved his hands back in his pockets. "That bitch hit me," Fleck yelled as he passed. "I help her with her problems and she hits me." He was yelling, but he caught a look at Spike and Jet and stopped. "She's crazy. All of them are crazy. She told me about you," He said as he passed Spike. "You are a crazy son of a bitch. And you," He said turning his head towards Jet. "You I don't know, but you're crazy just for being with them." The police man hauled Fleck down the stairs. "You chose that to talk to," Jet said with a bit of a smirk. Faye shrugged and put her hands behind her head as she started down the stairs again. "What exactly did you tell him about me, Faye?" Spike asked turning towards her retreating form. She kept walking not paying attention to him. "Faye. Faye!" He started down the stairs. "Why did he call me crazy?" Spike was taking two steps at a time to catch up to her. Jet began walking down after them a smile on his face.
When they reached the Bebop they each went their separate ways. Jet went to go water his bonsais. Spike went to the common room and put his feet up, relaxing away the day. Faye went to take a shower. Faye made her way back to her room, her robe closed warm against her skin a towel around her wet hair. She pushed her door open and turned on the lights, a small gasp escaped her lips. A brown shopping bag was on her dresser, no note no nothing. She searched around the room, and around the bag for some kind of bomb. Maybe a joke from Ed. It had happened before. She finally gave up and was about to peek her head into the bag. She pushed past the tissue paper, and a smile hit her lips. She reached in and pulled out the sky blue sundress. The fabric was so soft, cotton and airy light. "Didn't know if you would like it?" Spike said from behind her. Faye gasped clutching the dress to her and turned to face him. He was leaning against her door frame his arms crossed over his chest, a small smile playing on his lips. "You?" Faye said her eyes narrowing in confusion. He nodded and took a step in the room. She pulled the dress away from her and looked at it. "Why?" Spike stopped a foot away from her. She looked up and met his eyes, and saw confusion in them. He shrugged. "I don't know," He said putting a hand through his unruly hair. "Saw it and thought of you. God that sounds corny." He let out an amused breath. "Yeah, it does." Faye said with a smile at him. She looked down at the dress. "Did your friend tell you what to buy me?" She smirked up at him. "He said he would never wear it, that made up my mind. I really didn't want to think of him in the dress too." Spike smiled. "What did you say to make that guy think I was crazy?" "I told him all about you," Faye said. "Its not my fault he saw you for what you really are." Faye smirked, she moved her fingers along the dress and looked down at it. "I didn't expect to run into philosophical bounties. He was actually helpful." Faye said still smiling at the dress. "Yeah, I know what you mean." Spike said putting a hand to the back of his head. He watched as Faye ran her fingers over the fabric of the cloth. He took a few steps towards her, she looked up and watched him her fingers still clutching the fabric. She thought he was going to take it back, and it showed on her face. "Its yours I bought it for you." He said with a smile. "Then why are you moving towards me with that look on your face. Like I stole something." She started moving backwards. "I didn't take any of your cigarettes I bought my own." Spike laughed and kept moving, he reached out and caught her by the elbow. He didn't bring her to him, he just held her in place.
"Someone told me that there is a fine line between pleasure and pain." Spike began a small smile on his lips again. "Sure that someone was a cross dressing fat man who liked to rob people. But still." Spike shrugged. "I believe him. It makes a lot of sense for us, Faye." Faye looked at him, her face still showing confusion. "What are you talking about?" She said trying to search his face for the answers. "It's a line I want to cross. A line I'm ready to cross." Spike said moving himself a little closer to her. Faye tried to step back but his hand held her firm. He moved in and brushed his lips softly over hers. She let out a breath and he kissed her. A small, soft kiss, one that would linger. He pulled away smiling at her, she looked up at him. "I don't feel the pain anymore." He moved in again. Faye took her one hand from the dress and put it to Spike's chest to stop him. He looked at her, confusion in his smirking eyes. "Don't you?" she said. "I think you do. You will always love her." Spike dropped his hand from her elbow and looked at her. "Its been six months, almost seven." Spike said. "I'm moving on Faye." He looked at her. "I will always love her, but I want to try and get over her." "Are you sure?" Faye said moving back a step. Spike let out a deep sigh, and looked at her, and didn't answer. He looked back to the ground, put a hand in his hair and let out another breath. Again meeting her eyes. "You aren't going to make this easy, are you?" He said with a bit of a smirk. "If there is anything I'm not, its easy Spike Spiegel." She smirked at him. And he smiled back at her. "Aint it the truth." He said as he turned to leave. He stopped in the door way and looked back at her, she was smiling at him. "I hope the dress fits." He said as he smiled and walked out the door. Faye looked down at the dress and smiled.
Well, there it is. A chapter with nothing in it. But I'm proud of myself with connecting the title again. Everyone see the fine line thing. Remember it from the earlier chapter? Ok, Next Chapter: Devil in a Blue Dress Don't miss it. Spike is trying to woo Faye.