Authoress: Michelle C.

Date: July 31, 2003

Series: Cowboy Bebop

Disclaimers: See other fics.

Note: This is one of my "short but sweet" chapters. It's not too depressing and I think it's kinda cute. Enjoy ^ ^ (omg I put a smile thingy! Yay! I haven't done that in a fic for a while now lolz. Oooh and an 'lolz' too ^ ^ I'm happy again *smiles slightly*)

A Place Where I Belong

Chapter 4

Fight

Ein yawned and stood up. He walked over to Ed with his puppyish gait and stared at the girl. "Hey there, Ein," she said as she logged off the 'Net. "What's up?"
She hadn't been her usual, hyper self since Faye left-and that was a whole month and a half ago. Of course, Ed's normal, sunshine-y nature didn't disappear completely; she still trusted that Faye would come back, Spike would be happy again, they would end up catching another bounty head together and split the reward money. Faye would then blow her share at the tracks or a casino, Jet would spend most of his on the Bebop along with some bell peppers and beef and, as usual-minus the beef, and Spike would most likely get himself wasted at the next local bar they reach.
But, of course, that was just a 13-year-old girl's wishful thinking.
She had been talking to Ein more and more. Before, she used to talk to him out of habit, or just for fun when she was bored, occasionally when he was barking crazily. But in the past half of a month, she started to actually search for the Corgi when he was sleeping and just sat down and talk to him, all serious-like. She would just sit on the ground, on the couch, her bed, wherever she was to talk to her little companion and rouse him from his slumber. One time she talked to him about her computer. Another time, the subject was Jet's bonsai plants. Then, a few days later, Ed brought up Faye and Ein's ears perked up a little bit. That small action alone encouraged the girl to talk more about Faye and her disappearance but when she said that she felt Faye had betrayed her in a way, Ein lifted himself from his resting spot and plopped himself in the lap of the redhead. He sat for a few seconds, looking into her eyes, and licked her face. Then he circled once and fell into his puppy slumber. Ed took it as his doggy way of saying, "She didn't betray you; she'll be back. And if she did betray you, then she betrayed the rest of us-including Spike." Ed knew that Faye loved Spike. It wasn't an, "I love you so I'll throw myself at you," an, "I'll flirt with you even though it's screaming 'school girl'," or even, "Since Julia's dead and you're depressed, I'll comfort you," kind of love. It was more like a teenage girl seeing a movie star on television and having a crush. The teenage girl knows that it's futile and a waste of time to like him but it doesn't matter. She feels it and that's all that does matter. So she goes on every day as if she doesn't love him, as if everything around her is normal. But when she's by herself, she checks all the windows and doors to make sure nobody's there and finally breaks down and cries. She cries because he'll never feel the same about her as she does him; she cries because he'll never know she exists. So then even if she sees him in real life, eventually, she won't try to do anything to get attention; she'd just be another crazed fan anyways, so she just stays among the shadows and watches and thinks of what it would be like if they were together. Faye loved Spike in that dark little corner.
Ed knew it. She could see it in Faye's eyes. Whenever the subject of Spike's past, Julia, anything like that came up, Faye would get this distant look in her eyes even though her face was that neutral mask that reeked of I-don't-give-a-damn-even-though-it's-important-and-I-know-it's- important-and-I-know-you-know-I-know-it's-important.
No matter how much Faye would have denied it, she did love Spike; it was obvious and obviously painful. Jet knew it, Ed new it-Hell, even the dog knew it! Spike was the only one who never noticed. But then his feelings changed towards her and it turned into love too.
The only problem was that they finally knew their own feelings but never knew each other's.
Edward sighed and pet the drowsing pup in her lap.

^*^*^*^*^*^*^

The next morning, I doubt even the dog remembered the sudden quietness in Ed because by then, she was bouncing around again and being her usual, annoying self. Jet thought about worrying but then when she saw her so happy again, he decided it must have just been because she was bored or something.
Spike walked in that night to the smell of bell peppers and beef-this time with beef. "So what's the special occasion, Jet?" he asked when he saw it.
"Oh, nothing," said Jet and he moved his head in the ecstatic Ed's direction. "She was a bit down last night, so I wanted to cheer her up," he said softly to Spike. "I almost started to worry, and then today, she's hopping around again as if she has coals under her feet."
Spike chuckled and looked at Edward. He had overheard a little bit of Ed and Ein's conversation about Faye betraying her. Spike felt betrayed, himself, because she had left like that. 'Ed doesn't know about the letter,' Spike thought a bit guiltily, 'But she is coming back. So what does it matter?" he thought a smile tugged at his tired lips.
They ate dinner with Ed shoveling her food down her throat, more than eating, and Ein under the table picking up stray scraps. Afterwards, Jet brought out some sweets (with much begging from Spike not to because Ed was so hyper already) and Ed forgot her troubles from the day before as quickly as a baby forgets a boo-boo. "Yay! Ice cream!" she yelled. "Yippee!" And that was before she ate it.
For the rest of the night, Ein hid under tables while Jet cleaned up after Ed-when he wasn't being attacked by ice cream, that is. She had gotten the idea to start throwing the stuff at the others-including Ein. By dawn, everyone was sticky and exhausted, but with soft smiles upon their faces. For the moment, Faye was forgotten. To them right there and then, she was in her room hiding from Ed's ice cream "bombs" while the guys and Ein were cowering behind chairs and the sofa, "bombing" the exuberant redhead back.