A/N: Heya everybody!! Sorry I took so long to update…. I'm currently battling with a severe case of Writer's Block, and it has taken me 2 months to just write up this much!!! Anyways, a bunch of people thought that Chapter 2 was the end of the story. Hah, no such luck!
A HUUUUUUUUUUGE SHOUT OUT TO MY AWESOME REVIEWERS, I LOVE YOU MUCH!!!!!!!!
Now. On to Chapter 3 (This is not the end either…) Enjoy, and REVIEW!!!!!!
Faye winced, as bright sunlight seared her eyelids, jerking her awake. "Dammit…" she muttered, shading her eyes with one hand. She sat up and looked around her.
She was sitting on the roof of the Valencia, and it looked to be a little after noon, from the position of the way too bright sun.
Why am I…Oh yeah. Spike. She frowned and looked at the empty whiskey bottle cradled in her hands. I really should stop drinking too much, every time something makes me remember…
With a sigh, she slowly pulled herself to her feet, moaning slightly. "No one every says, that even with doctors, your body adds up all your breaks and bruises, and gives you the bill when you least expect it…"
There was a sudden rush of air, and Faye looked up, to see a familiar red ship rocket past. The Swordfish II seemed to slow as it flew past, until she felt as if the moment was frozen in time. Defying all logic, she could see into the cockpit, as clear as if it had been sitting still. Spike was inside, and Faye could make out every last detail, despite the distance between them. He looks…older. She thought, shocked. Her eyes found the crows feet at the corners of his eyes, and deepening frown lines that etched tiny canyons around his mouth. He still wore that old blue suit that he had worn almost every day she had known him, though it was beginning to look worse for the wear. Suddenly, inexplicably, he turned his head, as if he felt her eyes on him. Their gazes locked, and Faye felt something jump between them, and an almost electrical shock shivered over her body. Feeling embarrassed to be caught looking, Faye jerked her gaze away, and time sped up. Soon the Swordfish was gone, disappearing into the metropolitan sunset.
Later, Faye sat on her bed, applying a hairdryer to her freshly washed hair. She had taken a long, hot shower, wishing she could scrub away the memories of last night, to watch them swirl down the drain. I guess Lady Luck has used up all her good fortune…
There was a knock on her door, jerking her from her reverie.
Nanya stuck her head in the room. "Faye, deah's some guy heah ta see you'se…"
Puzzled, Faye raised an eyebrow. "The Valencia doesn't open until 6 pm. It's only 1:30."
Nanya shook her head. "It ain't a custamah. He says he used ta know you'se, a long time ago. 'Said 'is name was Gaujo…" She trailed off as Faye paled. "Is somethin' wrong? Was dat da guy dat was messin' wit' you'se last night?"
"Yes. I mean no! I mean…. Oh, I don't know what I mean! It wasn't really his fault… But I don't want to see him. Tell Sp-that man, that I'm still sleeping or something…"
Nanya looked like she was going to protest, but she caught the look on Faye's face and closed her mouth. "Awright," she sighed, and closed the door.
Faye lay back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. Why does he have to come back now? It's been four years… Why now?
There was a soft click as the door opened again. "He says he knows you'se bettah den dat, so you'se bettah git yer sawry arse out deah, befoah he comes in heah and drags you out hisself." Nanya's approving grin told more than her words. "An' he looks like he could carry out dat threat, so you'se should probably hurry…"
Spike stared absently at the newspaper in his hands, not really noticing what was on it.
"Mister Spiegel, sir?" Kate, the chipper receptionist peered at him over the top of his paper. "Um… You're newspaper's upside down…"
Spike's eyes flicked to the black print, which was indeed upside down. "Oh…uh right." Real cool, Spike. Real cool.
Kate smiled. "I just wanted to ask you if you'll be wanting a room tonight…"
He shook his head. "Nah, I don't think so."
She nodded, still grinning. "Alright, sir. Have a good day then!" she turned and walked back to her desk, and Spike couldn't help watching her butt sway as she walked. He shook his head. Gah. Geez Spike, you'll go after anything with boobs, won't you? That's so sick… His self-deprecating sigh was cut off as the door clicked open.
Faye stepped into the room wearing a black tank top patterned with large white flowers, a jean miniskirt with a flounced ruffle along the bottom, black flip flops, and a scowl fierce enough to rattle stronger characters than Spike.
But it would take more than a scowl to scare of Spike Spiegel.
He just smiled wanly. "Hey."
Faye didn't reply. Her only response was the slow lift of her right eyebrow.
He sighed. "Come on Romani. Don't be like this…"
She pursed her lips. "Want do you want with me?"
Spike rose from the chair. "I want you to come with me to lunch."
Faye actually cracked a smile, though not a kind one. "You want me to have lunch with you?"
He raised both eyebrows. "That's what I said, isn't it?"
She suddenly became extremely hostile. "What's your beef, Spike?! You leave us, to go bring some sort of twisted revenge on a homicidal maniac who killed you illicit mistress, everyone assumes you're dead, then you show up FOUR YEARS LATER at a brothel, deceive me into sleeping with you, then want me to go to lunch with you?! ARE YOU NUTS?!?! I was just getting my life back in order, and I DO NOT need you coming back in here and tearing it all down around my ears!" By now, Faye's voice was loud enough to alert the entire brothel staff. "We cared about you, Jet and I! And you just dropped us like old garbage. Is that what we are to you, Spike? Just some luggage you picked up somewhere along the line?"
"NO!" Spike's shout interrupted her. "I wasn't gone for this long by choice!" his angry voice shocked Faye into silence. "I was being-"
At that moment, the door crashed open, and Nanya and Kelly spilled into the room. Nanya picked herself up off the floor, and glared at Kelly. "Smooth move, genius. Now everyone knows we were eavsdro-" she looked up at the shocked room. "Eheh… Um, we'll just be leaving now…" Both women shuffled quickly out of the room, blushing guiltily.
Spike cleared his throat. "Well, I guess I'll just explain over lunch…"
Faye shook her head, refusing to meet his eyes, though she didn't seem as against the idea as before. "I uh, I have to work…"
Kate piped up from behind her desk, "Um, actually, the Valencia doesn't open until 6pm, and the girls don't have to be here until 5, so you have time for lunch."
Faye glared. "Well, I-I have to um, I have to clean my work room today, and I won't have time to clean it if I go out…"
"We'll clean it!" Nanya piped from the doorway, her earlier embarrassment apparently forgotten. "Kelly and I have to clean our work rooms too, so one more room won't make a difference!"
Faye looked increasingly desperate. "But, um… Kate! You said you wanted to go over some records with me, didn't you?!" she said, staring meaningfully at the receptionist.
Kate looked confused. "Um… I don't remember doing that, but you know me! I always forget everything! I must have done it-"
"Miss Monterossa," Spike interrupted. "Could she look over the records when she gets back?"
Kate nodded, smiling. "Sure! Have a nice lunch!"
Faye glared at Spike. "Fine. But you are so footing the bill!"
Spike quickly regretted taking Faye out.
He had taken her to a small and dingy diner, where a middle-aged waitress wearing enough makeup to wipe out the Maybelline counter at the supermarket, asked in a hoarse voice what they wanted.
Spike winced as her horrible breath reached his nose, but managed to gasp out, "One… B…L…T… sandwich… andalargecoke!" he finished in a rush.
The waitress nodded, and scribbled something on her order pad before turning to Faye. "And whaddaya want, lady?" she asked hoarsely, scratching absently at her leg with hideously fake nails.
Faye wrinkled her nose. "I'll have a Chef Salad and some coffee. Black." She paused, and looked at Spike. "On second thought," she amended, voice sickly sweet, "I'd like a cheeseburger, a large side of coleslaw, a baked potato, a large onion rings, a piece of apple pie, and a large rootbeer." She threw a triumphant glare at Spike, which plainly said, 'You may have gotten me to come out with you, but I'm not going to make this pleasant or easy'.
Spike simply smirked arrogantly, and leaned back. "I hope you're hungry…" he said.
Faye glared, angry when he didn't react to her barb. "Alright. What do you want?!" she asked him, plainly fed up with trying to feign nonchalance.
His smirk dropped from his face. "I wanted to explain why I didn't come back to the Bebop."
Faye flipped her hair and leaned back, wrapping an air of boredom around her like a cloak. "What makes you think I want to hear it? What makes you think I care?! Spike's been gone for four years, and now he's back. Whoop de doo." She said, voice laced with sarcasm. She wouldn't look at him either, apparently too interested by the peeling wallpaper next to her to even bother meeting his eyes.
Spike grinned, as he saw through her charade. "You seemed very interested back at the Valencia…"
Her head whipped up, and she glared venomously at him, but her mask was down. Spike had seen her eyes, and that was all he needed to read her like an open book.
I guess it's a skill you pick up when you've been a bounty hunter for as long as I have… he mused. All you need is a glimpse, and you can tell exactly what that person is thinking.
That skill certainly came in handy now, as he analyzed all the emotions flitting around in her emerald orbs. Anger, remorse…pain? Fear? Sorrow? Puzzled, he shook his head. "Faye, I know I made a mistake-" he was cut off by her derisive snort. "Okay, lots of mistakes. But you have to believe that it was for the best!"
Faye actually laughed then, but it was a humorless, hollow sound. "Don't play games, Spike. Neither of us are children, naïve and gullible. There's no need to make empty excuses."
Spike made a sound of protest, but Faye overrode him. "I don't care if you spent the last four years creeping all over the Sol System. I don't care if you lived the wild life, gambling, drinking, having sex with every woman under 40! I mean, look what I've been doing! I just wish you respected me enough to at least call, or write, or let me know that you're alive! And if it was even too much hassle to do that, you could at least have the decency to not LIE about it!"
Spike glared right back at her. "I wasn't lying! I couldn't come back to the Bebop because I was being hunted by Syndicate goons! I thought if I came back, I'd drag you and Jet into it!"
Faye blinked at him. "Jet and I could have handled it. We could've helped you! And what, I'm supposed to believe you couldn't wrangle some time in a bathroom or in your ship, or a few minutes for a quick phone call, or v-mail, or even a letter, to let us know that you were alive?! I appreciate you're concern, but I'm not a baby, Spike. I'm 77 years old for chrissakes!" (everyone in the diner was staring at them now) Faye didn't notice. "I mean, if the entire world thinks you're dead, couldn't you at least have the respect to let your friends know that you're okay?! So that they don't have to grieve constantly? Or visit your EMPTY grave? Or mention you in their prayers? Or remember all the good times we had? Or wish that things had turned out differently between us? Or see you in every man I meet? Or sleep in your old shirts just so I can breathe the traces of your smell still clinging to the fabric?!" Faye's voice had risen constantly in decibels, and she finally seemed to notice what she had been saying. "Fuck you, Spike! Just… I just… you…I…Fuck you!" She whirled and ran from the diner, her flip-flops slapping sharply on the ground. As soon as the door slammed shut behind her, Spike could see her silently burst into tears, until she disappeared around a corner.
He sank back onto the red plether of the booth, smacking himself on the forehead. "Well, that went well…" he muttered, unaware that the entire diner was staring at him.
"I hope you can pay for this…" the dumpy waitress set a multitude of plates in front of him, evidence of Faye's anger. She popped her bubblegum noisily, and quirked an eyebrow. "Honey, you've got some learnin' ta do…"
Spike covered his face with his hand. "Shit…"
