When sexual tension gets too strong, just let your two main characters jump each other! Um...seriously though, I hope that part didn't seem like...off, or fast or anything. Cause you know, I could totally picture them doing that. Plus, they were all dressed up. How could Spike resist Faye and vice versa? Obviously, it was impossible! Anyway...it's stupidly cold and rainy outside right now. That's trash. I refuse to go out there, and so...I shall write!

*****

Don't Leave Me Now

Part 6

*****

"Well, it's your fault as much as mine!" Faye yelled as Spike and her entered the Bebop, heatedly arguing over a scrap of paper that Spike was waving around angrily. "I mean, I wasn't the only one doing it!"

"If you hadn't been hitting the horn with your foot he would've never pulled over!" Spike argued. "You have to pay it!"

"If you hadn't been such an ass about it and let me handle it, we could've gotten off!" Faye shouted back.

"Is that a ticket?" Jet peeked out of the kitchen at the ragged looking pair. He snatched the paper out of Spike's hand, reading the infractions aloud. "Illegal passenger...public exposure...public disturbance...what the hell? What did you guys pull to get a...what? Ninety thousand woolongs? What did you get, the maximum fine?"

"Just about." Spike snatched back the ticket from Jet. "That asshole officer wouldn't fucking cut us a break..."

"Cause you couldn't shut up and play nice!" Faye yelled at him before turning to appeal to Jet. "If I hadn't stopped him, this idiot would've been arrested."

"I didn't do anything wrong. That guy was just jealous." Spike shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"Jealous of what? Your ridiculous hair?" Faye wanted to know. "That must be it!" she exclaimed sarcastically.

"Hey, you seem to like it well enough." Spike winked at her, infuriating her further.

"Wait...let me just stop you two...do I even want to know how you got this ticket?" Jet asked them.

"Uh...no, not really." Faye shook her head sheepishly.

"Nothing exciting." Spike looked intently at his feet.

"Well then let me just say that I don't care how you guys get this paid for as long as you do it before we leave the planet." Jet told them patiently. "And I'm not chipping in."

"We didn't say you had to." Faye shrugged as though she assumed as much.

"Okay. Lunch will be ready in a few minutes if you two want to go get washed up." Jet told the seemingly calmed pair.

"Sounds good." Spike nodded as Faye and him turned to head down the hall to the bathroom. Jet almost laughed as he heard them arguing again not two minutes after he'd dismissed them. He wasn't surprised, but he honestly wondered when the pair would learn to handle their feelings like adults. Maybe never.

----------

Faye closed her door, quietly making her way down the darkened corridor of the Bebop. It was late and she wouldn't want to wake the other crew members. She softly padded out to the hangar, making her way over to the Redtail, a smile of success working it's way over her features as she began to climb into her ship.

"Where are you going?" an all too familiar voice caught her just before she closed the hatch to her ship, causing Faye to groan.

"None of your business." she spoke toward the direction of the voice. "What are you doing out here this late anyway?" she asked as Spike stepped forward, the light from his dimly glowing cigarette revealing his position before she could see the rest of him clearly enough.

"None of your business." he retorted, and she could hear the smile in his voice. Rolling her eyes, she jumped out of her ship, landing easily below in a practiced movement.

"Fine. I was going to go have some fun with my bounty." she answered. Silence greeted her. "At the casinos." she elaborated, feeling her face go red in shame.

"I thought you promised Jet you'd start paying off your debt instead?" he asked, moving forward so that they could talk more easily. "Change your mind?"

"Well, if I win big then I can pay it off a lot faster." Faye explained. "I never specifically promised not to gamble anymore. Besides, he tricked me into making that promise."

"Tricked you? He said he'd pay for your half of the ticket if you'd start paying your debt so that those damn collectors would leave us alone. You know, we aren't here to protect you from yourself."

"Really? Then why are you out here guarding the hangar to make sure I don't go out?" she challenged.

"I was thinking. Besides, I knew you'd go back on your word. Women don't understand what a promise means." He told her, taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

"What? Don't lay that on me." Faye was angry with his insinuation about her honesty. "I may be in major debt, but I'm not a liar. Like I said, I never promised I wouldn't gamble. I just promised to start paying my debts."

"By making your debt bigger?" Spike asked, remaining perfectly calm. "Good plan."

"Shut up! I keep my promises, so don't just assume I'm some fucking liar." Faye could feel her hands balling into clenched fists and she tried to keep her cool, but Spike always knew how to make her lose her temper.

"Then why are you sneaking around in the middle of the night, huh?" he asked. "Looks pretty bad if you ask me."

"I didn't ask you." she stomped to emphasize her point as he tossed his cigarette to the ground, stomping it out. "What do you care, anyway? If you guys don't want to protect me from the collectors anymore, that's fine! You know, I did just fine before I had you to deal with. I don't need you."

"Really," he raised an eyebrow as though she was raising a slightly interesting point. "Could've fooled me."

"What do you mean by that?" Faye narrowed her eyes at him angrily. She hated it when Spike acted so nonchalant, like nothing in the world affected him. After the ticket had been dealt with, he hadn't said anything about what had been happening the night they received it. He hadn't even brought up the idea that there might be something between them. He seemed to not even notice her existence at times, and somehow that angered her more than when he did pay attention to her, deliberately picking fights with her and teasing her. Because of this, and the promise she'd unwittingly made to Jet, her temper had been building to a near fever pitch over the past week. Spike was giving her just the instigation she needed to explode.

"Well, you seem to want something from me, always trying to get me alone." Spike's voice held a bit of suggestive teasing, and it pushed Faye over the edge.

"Fuck you!" Faye blew up, lunging at him in a flurry of punches and kicks, at first catching the man unaware, but then after the first hit she landed squarely on his jaw, he growled, catching her easily enough and stopping her effectively by pinning her against the side of the ship.

"What the fuck was that all about?" Spike asked her, not letting go of her as she continued to struggle.

"Lemme go, you prick!" Faye shouted, aiming a knee to his groin, which he managed to block.

"No fucking way. Not like this. That hurt, dammit." he shook his head as if to rid himself of the pain in his jaw.

"You deserved it, you ass." Faye snarled at him. "I hope your jaw's fucking broken and you have to eat shit through a straw for a month."

"It's not broken. Sorry to disappoint." Spike chuckled at her. "What's up with you? Something get caught in your pantyhose?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with me?!" Faye continued to struggle. "Dammit, if you can't figure out what it is then I'm damn well not gonna tell you!"

"Gods, Faye, what the hell is up? Are you going through gambling withdrawals or something?" Spike wanted to know.

"No! Now let me go." she hissed.

"What if I don't?" he asked her. "You can't get away."

"I can wait you out." she told him. "You'll get tired eventually."

"That's what you think." he smiled at her, switching his grip so that he had both her hands in one of his. With his free hand, he fished a pair of handcuffs out of his jacket. "So what's it gonna be?"

"It's not like you even care what's wrong anyway." Faye told him after a moment of silence, the fight draining out of her. "Just let me go."

"No." he answered calmly. "Not until you tell me why you're so damned pissed off."

"You should know that already." Faye narrowed her eyes at him.

"Faye...dammit. Is this about...what happened?" He asked, releasing her.

"You tell me, smart ass." Faye rubbed at her wrists grumpily.

"Here's what I'll tell you, Faye." Spike's voice was serious. "I don't know what happened the other night. I was just...I don't know. I've been alone so long. But I can't just...I can't be with you."

"Who said I want to be with you?" Faye slumped against the ship, wrapping her arms around her chest and turning away so he couldn't see the pained expression on her face.

"Faye, just listen to me, dammit." Spike sighed tiredly. "I already loved someone. I don't love you. I just don't."

"Then why can't you leave me alone?" she wanted to know, the catch in her voice giving away her emotions.

"I don't know. But you...I don't feel for you like I did for Julia." Spike told her. "I can't ever love anyone again."

"That's bullshit." Faye snorted. "What is Julia, anyway? The end all be all of women? I met her, Spike. She may have a pretty face, but she was nothing but trouble. You may think you loved her, but I bet almost every man she ever met thought the same thing. She's just one of those women. And Julia's not the only woman in the universe like her."

"What do you know?" Spike sounded a little angry now. He pulled out a cigarette, moving to light it.

"You mad cause I'm challenging your precious love for the wonderful Julia?" Faye asked, raising a dark eyebrow at him. "Let me tell you something, Spike Spiegel. Julia's dead. And she's not coming back just because you won't let yourself accept it. She's never coming back. And you want to know something else? I don't think she loved you all that much. She said something about you, when she figured out that I was on your crew, you know. And it wasn't like she was in love with you. She didn't get that look in her eyes, that look like she can't ever think of anything but being with you. I don't think she loved anything, really. She was too cold."

"Fuck you, Faye." Spike growled, moving away slightly. "You don't know shit about what we had."

"I mean, she wasn't even your girlfriend. She was with Vicious, and you hated his guts. What does that tell you?" Faye continued, ignoring his anger.

"Shut up, dammit!" Spike threw his lighter at her angrily. It struck Faye hard in the eye, causing her to cry out in pain, her hand covering what she knew would turn into a big black eye. There was a long moment of silence as she fought the urge to start crying at the pain in her face as well as the pain in her heart. She was leaning over so that he couldn't see the struggle on her face as she felt the first tears beginning to fall. Finally, a very contrite sounding Spike spoke up, stepping toward her unsurely. "Oh shit, Faye...I didn't mean...does it hurt?"

"I'm fine." her voice trembled only slightly, but she cursed her weakness anyway. "Get away from me."

"Faye...please." Spike stepped forward, sounding worried for once. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to hit you."

"Little too late for that, isn't it?" she struck his hand as he reached out to her. "Get away, I said."

"Faye...are you crying?" he asked her after another long pause.

"No." she answered, shying away from him as he tried to move toward her again. "I'm fine."

"Let me see it." he asked her, stepping forward again.

"No, just leave me alone." Faye pushed him away, but he didn't pay attention to her request, stepping forward and catching her arm in a gentle but firm grip.

"Just let me see it." he repeated, his free hand going to her chin, raising her face to his. She tried to escape or turn away, but discovered that even though his grip was soft, he had her strength beat. "Move your hand." he ordered, indicating the hand that covered her eye and most of her face. She did so, letting him see that she had indeed been crying. What did it matter, anyway?

"Happy?" she asked, ignoring the pain in her cheek as well as she could. "Can I go now?"

"Faye...I really am sorry." Spike's fingers brushed lightly over the bruise forming on her tear-splotched face.

"I've had worse." she turned away, not liking the way he was staring down at her. "This is nothing."

"I shouldn't have done it." he told her, his voice soft as he continued to trail his fingers over her face, brushing her tears away. "I don't hit women."

"Do I even count as a woman?" Faye asked bitterly. "Only time you treat me like one is when you get lonely, right?"

"Faye...I really didn't mean to hit you." Spike told her. "Don't get like this, come on."

"You're so stupid." Faye snorted. "You think I even care that you chucked your stupid lighter at me? I told you, I've had worse. And I know you didn't mean to hit me. I was trying to piss you off."

"I'm still sorry." Spike told her firmly.

"That you're stuck on Julia?" Faye asked, her voice angry, yet cold. "Yeah, whatever. Don't worry about it. You think any man has ever honestly wanted me because of who I am? Honestly, look at me."

"Faye...it wasn't like that." he told her.

"Then what was it like?" Faye wanted to know. Spike shook his head, unsure of how to answer. "Look, it doesn't matter. I'm not going to wait around for you to realize that she's not coming back, and I won't play second to some dead chick. So just--mmph..." Faye was cut off as Spike suddenly kissed her forcefully, his lips moving with a passion that made her knees weaken. She slowly began to return the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck. But when she felt his arms around her, it brought her back to herself and she pushed away. "Don't." she put her fingers on his lips, blocking him from any further attempt. "Don't think you can fuck with me like that. Just...just don't." Faye whirled around, running back to her room and locking the door. She collapsed on her bed and sobbed silently into her pillow, trying to rid herself of her feelings for Spike. When he came to her door, demanding to be let in, she ignored him, eventually crying herself to sleep.

*****

The End (Of Part 6, That Is)