Disclaimers: Although Spike looks yummy, I'm afraid that he and the rest of Cowboy Bebop don't belong to me.

Rating: PG-13… for now

Something Beautiful

komorebi no naka de kimi wa waratteta

hiza no ue de neru koinu mo yasuraka na kao o shite...

In the rays of sunlight, you were smiling

The puppy sleeping on your knee also looked peaceful...

sono egao de nanimokamo sukuwareru to omotteta

I thought that with that smile, anything could be saved

kagirareta sora no shita de kieta

ano koro no kimi o omoide ni wa...

Underneath the limited sky, it vanished

The memory of you at that time

-Gackt "Leeca"

Chapter Two: Obscurity

She absolutely loathed dogs.

They were hairy and shed all over the place, reeked of trash and filth, and salivated nonstop. There were countless other irritating things that they were capable of doing, and Faye was getting treated to a first hand encounter with what may have been the canine spawn of Satan.

It had been a nice dream at first; there was a sense of contentment, a warm body behind hers with powerful arms wrapped around her waist. Unable to look up behind her, all she could do was sigh and sit contentedly in her mysterious lover's embrace. Eyes fluttering to a close, she suddenly came back to the realm of the living when he buried his face into her nape and began to nuzzle the soft skin. Warm puffs of air flitted across the highly sensitized surface, and Faye felt her body go slack and begin to throb.

Suddenly all of her senses became more acute: the green canopy of the forest sharply contrasted against the vivid blue of the sky; the breeze carried the tangy wild scent of autumn; and the gentle whisper of the grass in the wind magnified into a dull roar. But just as abruptly as this barrage of colors, smells, and sounds assaulted her, they were quickly shoved into the background as this unknown man continued his comforting ministrations on her.

He unwound his arms from her waist and slowly let his hands trace a path down her back, kneading the flesh in a stimulating massage, working back up, then down her arms, to thread her fingers through his own. Then in a fiercely protective gesture that made Faye want to cry, he formed a cocoon around her body with his arms and legs, stirring up a sense of security that she hadn't felt in a long time. Although she could have easily spent an eternity laying content in this anonymous man's embrace, the need to know his identity steadily gnawed through her happiness. But every time she attempted to turn around and get a peek at his face, he wouldn't permit it and placed his cheek against the top of her hair.

A tiny thread of frustration began to worm its way into her euphoric mood after several failed attempts to see his face. Finally, Faye snapped, broke his loose hug and whirled around to give him a sound verbal beating. But before any words of abuse could pass her lips, the man took the opportunity to put her mouth to better use.

It happened so quickly that Faye was shocked beyond belief, but closed her eyes in response to the sensual onslaught. It was chaste, innocent, and sweet beyond belief, and she found herself threading her fingers in his thick hair.

But then it happened.

It was only a niggling sensation at first, and Faye would be damned before she would break off one of the sweetest kisses in her life to check out what was going on. But then something began to tickle her nose so strongly that she produced an incredibly loud sneeze that shook her to her boots. Stunned with embarrassment, but unwilling to let it stop this wonderful experience, Faye honed in on the kill, when her eyes went wide with surprise with a new and foreign feeling. Was he… licking her??


Suddenly revolted by the cold clammy feeling of his tongue on her cheek, Faye grabbed the locks on either side of his head to get a good look at him and screamed and screamed and screamed.

She woke up grabbing a disgustingly happy Ein that was busy slobbering all of her face and breathing his stinky dog breath into her still open mouth which was still poised for another scream. But then her eyebrows began to knit together and her eyes slowly turned into dangerous slits as the shock began to recede. Fingers tightening on the hapless dog, Ein finally came to the conclusion that she was pissed, and successfully wiggled out of her hands and barked playfully at her from her open bedroom door. As she got up and took a step towards the genius animal with arms outstretched, murderous thoughts ran through her head, some of the most delectable including canine fricassee or dog-on-a-stick. Fortunately for him, the little critter decided to hightail it in search of some grub, leaving Faye at the foot of her bed, dripping with dog saliva, and still shaking the last vestiges of sleep from her eyes.

Faye sat back down on her bed and lay flat on her back with her legs dangling off the end, looking up at the stucco pocked ceiling with a sullen expression. She could still vividly recall every detail of that kiss that she had shared with that mysterious man and all of the emotions that it had evoked. But how could she possibly feel so strongly about a dream and a man that was probably the invention of her own subconscious? And then she came to a pause.

If I didn't know better, Faye mused, I would think that it was a memory.

After that, she stared straight up with blind eyes in fruitless, aimless contemplation.

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She finally roused herself from bed an hour later, and by the time she finally ventured into the kitchen, Jet was already serving lunch to the rest of the crew. No one eating lifted their head in greeting except Jet, who got up to fetch her a plate of the newest mystery dish that he had concocted out of boredom and lack of supplies. No words were exchanged as the hot plate was placed in front of her, and all that could be heard from the table were the occasional grunt and the sounds of slurping and hasty chewing.

Faye couldn't concentrate on the colorless mush placed before her and idly speared the stuff with her chopsticks as she glanced from crewmate to crewmate in lazy examination. Jet looked as if all of his concentration was in the dish before him and nothing existed outside of his routine feeding. Ed was defying the law of gravity as she sat precariously upside down on her head, balancing her wiry body with one hand and shoveling food in with the other. The wretched Ein was underneath the table, having completely forgotten the events of that morning, and daintily picking through his bowl. And Spike was sitting there nonchalantly, having already finished his meal, with his feet propped up against the table and smoking while reading a magazine.

Nothing has changed, thought Faye morosely. Ed and Ein returned out of the blue from their adventures on Earth. Spike abandoned us to avenge Julia, miraculously surviving after taking on the whole Syndicate single-handedly. Now six months later and a week after Ed and Ein's return, he comes crawling back without even a half-cocked excuse.

"What a bunch of shit," muttered Faye as she formed a castle out of her lunch. Spike raised an eyebrow while reading. Jet also heard the comment and spluttered, "Well I know that it doesn't look that appealing, but…"

Faye knew that they had absolutely no insight into her thoughts, but it didn't stop her from taking out her frustration on them. Cutting him off, she tersely replied, "Cut the crap, Jet, I know where this is going. 'When there's no bounty, there's no money. When there's no money, there's no food. And when there's no food, we have to eat this shit.' Spare me the lecture. I'm out of here." She rose from her seat and spun on her heel towards the docking pad. She needed space between her and these insensitive, selfish freaks.

"Where are you going?" Jet called after her. "We need to work on finding another bounty!"

Faye paused by the door. "I'll bring one in myself," she announced finally.

She heard a snort in the background. Faye frowned. I hope he chokes on his cigarette and dies a slow painful death from suffocation and smoke inhalation. The mere thought brought back a tiny smile to her lips. Misinterpreting the suppressed glee for greed, Jet quickly interjected and cut off her malicious train of thought with another reprimand. "No way, Faye. If you are going to live under this roof and eat our food –" Crap, thought Faye, "—then you are going to have to start sharing the responsibility of bringing in the bounty!"

"I do though! I'm right there alongside you and him," Faye pointed at the lounging Spike. "And you know that I was responsible for bringing in the majority of the bounties when he was gone." That comment certainly piqued Spike's ire and he retaliated with an edged barb. "Poor Jet, no wonder you guys couldn't afford any food. I'm surprised that you haven't started eating the pipes. Hey Faye, have you been feeding from your wardrobe? It seems skimpier than usual."

"Shut the fuck up, you asshole."

"I guess malnutrition makes you bitchier."

Faye couldn't stand his sardonic smirk any longer and projected herself at him, ready to claw some nice deep trenches on his face. But Ed's perky voice stopped her in her tracks. "Ed found bounty!" Ignoring Spike, Faye sauntered over to where Ed was sitting cross-legged on the floor, typing codes at rapid-fire speed, and accessed a mug shot of their newest potential bounty. Everyone crowded around the monitor as Spike began to read out loud. "Yubi Watanabe. Age: 32. Allegedly responsible for embezzlement, fraud, 13 counts of battery, 5 for sexual assault, and the mastermind of the N.F.O. incidents on Mars." Spike let out a long whistle. "Well what do you know. He's been wanted by the ISSP for seven years, has remained elusive since that time, probably with the help with his extensive connections in the Syndicate, and is up for a whopping 50 million woolongs."

There was always a 'but', especially with that kind of profile, and Faye intended to find out. "What's the catch?" Spike gave her a look that clearly questioned her IQ. "Besides the fact that he has a record that puts most hardened criminals to shame? Our man has been quite a busy little bee. He also seems to have the deadly touch. Yubi leaves a trail of corpses in his wake." Then he addressed Ed, who was still digging up dirt on the guy. "Where's he now, Ed?"

There was a moment of silence as she produced a map on her screen. "Bee-bee is on Earth." The screen focused on the planet and zoomed in on the Western Hemisphere, and a bright red dot appeared on the western coast. "Ding-dong! San Francisco!" With the location found, Ed picked up her Tomato, balanced it on her head, and bounded off with Ein snapping at her heels. "Let's go find the purply wiggly-dink, Ein!" They turned the corner, and all that could be heard was the sounds of insane laughter, and sporadic high-pitched barking.

Faye was glad to see them go. "How long will it take to get to Earth?"

Jet quickly estimated. "Two hours actually since we're so close; four hours tops." Good, she thought, already in the process of charting out locations to target. "I'll be in my room getting ready." She left them to their own business as she started prepping, grabbing her Glock and strapping it to her thigh, and stuffing ammo into the hidden pockets in her jacket. With a couple of hours to kill, Faye decided to take a nap and conserve energy for the big showdown.

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Faye woke up a little while later, and she could still remember the dream.

She wished that she could put an end to the dreams. They had come with increasing frequency, ever since she saw her birthday date on her calendar two weeks ago and circled it out of nostalgia. Now that it was actually her birthday and no one had remembered, Faye feared that they would keep coming, because more often than not, they managed to point out all the pitfalls of her pitiful existence onboard the Bebop. Things that she had successfully learned to turn a blind eye to.

But she couldn't ignore it any longer. She needed out. Now.

As she lay sprawled across the sagging bed, Faye resolved to enjoy her birthday to the fullest. She was going to single-handedly turn this Watanabe guy in, collect her larger share of the bounty, and blow it on a nice gambling binge. Looking down at her faded yellow leather hot pants, Faye also considered going on a shopping spree. It would be kind of nice wearing something looser and more comfortable, she thought as she fingered the thin material. A dress would be nice. She could just imagine Jet and Spike's reaction to her clothed in something that wasn't so yellow, so tight, so short for a change, but rather in something billowy and feminine.

Jet would probably have his mouth hanging wide open catching flies and question her mental stability, while Spike would initially gawk and rudely stare. But after they got over their surprise, they most likely dismiss it as a passing feminine fancy and walk away. So, even if she were to reveal the real, softer side of her, Faye would still be alone despised.

Faye snorted with derision and tossed her purple hair askew. Screw the others. This year, Faye Valentine was going to have fun. With or without the others partaking in her day, because she knew full well that they didn't give a damn.

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Three hours later she entered the bar seductively, confidence bolstering her strut towards an empty seat at the bar. She was equipped with an ear-piece allowing her to communicate with Jet and Spike in case of emergency and was relatively at ease with the reassuring weight of her Glock on her thigh. All was going to go according to plan.

Mentally cringing at the disreputable and dingy appearance of the small establishment, Faye signaled for the bartender and ordered for a scotch on the rocks and assessed all of the male drinkers over the rim of her glass. Hobo, hobo, shrimp, lard bucket, hobo…well hello mister! Faye almost whistled aloud appreciatively, but stopped herself at the last minute and raked her eyes up and down the shadowy figure of a man three stools away from her. Although he was slouched over his glass and had his knees bent and feet tucked underneath the bar, he still managed to exude a sensual grace with the curve of his back and the circle of his arm. Midnight bangs hung in a messy curtain, obscuring his eyes, but revealed a proud profile. But her eyes were immediately drawn to his mouth. Faye suddenly felt like a schoolgirl again with the depth of emotions that swept through her with only a glance. His lips looked incredibly sexy, with a soft firmness that made Faye flush with heat. Her fingers went slack around her glass as the mantra "men are trouble" ran through her head, when the world came to a crashing halt.

He lifted his head.

It was almost as if he could feel her probing eyes on him. Turning his head slightly, he met her wide-eyed stare with his own. At the moment their eyes met, she felt all of her breath, her confidence, her sexiness slip away quietly until all that remained was the quiet introverted girl that she used to be before the world had issued her fair share of battle scars.

She remained immobile as his eyes burned into her and stripped each mental barrier that she had erected over the years until she sat there completely vulnerable and naked in his entrancing gaze. There was something familiar if not utterly mesmerizing about his eyes; their brightness and luminescent intensity hid a softer edge, a compassion that made her feel like a kindred spirit to this…

Criminal.

Suddenly, Faye felt the world spin away violently. This man was Yubi Watanabe, the outlaw whose bounty was going to allow her to celebrate her special day properly for once. Her heart hardened once more. He will not get away, Faye resolved acrimoniously. I will not let him. If there was one thing that she learned after she awoke to this strange new world, it was to not trust men. They had robbed her of her money, stolen her life, preyed on her love, and shattered her sense of security. She was damned if they were going to mock her pride as well.

Her inner child screamed for release. She closed her eyes and buried it deep and blocked out the sounds of its screams. When she opened her eyes again, she straightened her shoulders, licked her bottom lip, and sent him a flirtatious smirk that would send any red-blooded male into overdrive. But he remained impassive and continued to bore holes into her soul. Perturbed at the lack of response, Faye abruptly got up and walked to the empty seat at his side. Calm down, calm down, it's just nerves. Determined to incite an interest, Faye pulled out all of the stops. Lightly placing her hand by his arm, she casually bent over low enough to present a generous portion of cleavage. He kept the eye contact and his eyes refused to stray. Politely coughing to hide her anxiety, she asked, "Hey hun, my name's Faye. What's yours?"

Silence.

"I saw you looking at me from over there, and I was wondering if I could keep you company."

He took a sip of his drink.

"You from around here?"

He stood up, stretched his long lithe body and began walking towards the door.

"Wait a minute!" What the hell? "We haven't been properly introduced!" Faye quickly rose and tried to intercept him at the door. But her heels slowed her down and by the time she had reached the entrance, he was gone. She ran outside and looked both ways, but there was nothing left except the swirling wisps of disturbed fog that he left in his midst.

When she thought things couldn't get any worse, she suddenly heard the ear piece crackle to life and Spike's irritating baritone grumbled across the intercom, "Why is it taking so long? I guess he's not as blind, deaf, and stupid as past bounties. Either that, or he has much better taste in women than we took him for."

Faye felt like an utter fool. Not only had she been taken in by the mere look of some guy, a bounty no less, but her ego had been shot to pieces, and he had managed to escape the vicinity without a trace. Faye kicked a can with all of her pent-up rage. It bounced twice and rolled until it hit something solid. She watched coolly as Spike and Jet materialized out of the smoky fog and strode over the to the streetlight where she was standing. Jet's face was the picture of frustration, as he approached her seemingly nonchalant figure. He got straight to the point. "What the hell was that, Faye? How could you just let him leave like that?"

Spike stood there, legs crossed, and sporting a smug smile, as if he had known all along that this would be the outcome of letting Faye handle the situation all by herself. "I don't think she had much of choice, Jet. He ran out on you, huh? Didn't think you were woman enough for him?"

"I bet he was gay," Faye defended acidly.

"Too immature to admit that he was immune to your slut routine, Faye? The truth hurts," Spike countered casually as he turned around towards his ship. As he walked away, he inclined his head towards her and made a defeated gesture with one hand. "Denial is a true sign of weakness, you know."

Look who's talking, Faye thought bitterly. Here speaks the man who childishly sought death because he couldn't live without a flaky girlfriend that ran out on him at the first sign of trouble. Faye knew better than to goad him like that, though. He was liable to get pissed off as hell and shoot her dead. "Like you would know what it's like to be strong," she scoffed after his retreating figure.

He stopped in his tracks.

For a moment, Faye's heart stopped, and wished that she could take those words back, because she was certain that he was going to come at her with his gun. Instead, he merely pushed his hands deeper into his pockets, gave her a sardonic grin and shrugged. There was no anger in his eyes, but the blank resignation there instead made Faye feel cold and numb.

There was a long drawn out pause that lengthened with each throbbing heartbeat. Finally, he looked at her dead in the eye and said quietly, "You're right. I don't know. But even I know that to be strong doesn't mean that you have to act like a bitch." And with that parting, he climbed into the Swordfish, turned on the ignition, and flew off.

Her eyes followed him until the high pitched whine of his engine once again receded into a quiet stillness. When she finally snapped out of her stupor, she realized that Jet, too, had beaten a hasty retreat back to the Bebop. Her plan had fallen through, the bounty gone, and everyone was pissed as hell with her for the lost opportunity. The worst thing of all was the lack of anything to make all of this trouble worthwhile. The chance at the money had dissipated with the abrupt departure of Watanabe.

Faye sighed. Even her birthday was a complete bust. Even though she had tried to do justice to it for once, with a whole pampering and ego-boost session included, the effort had been squashed before it had been even attempted.

There's only way now to properly celebrate a ruined special day as this, Faye thought despondently. Drink until you properly forget that no one cares. Fingering the dwindling funds in her jacket pocket, she strode determinedly towards another random bar. Slamming the door open, she gave all of the males in the establishment a quick once-over before she approved of her choice and sat down in a creaky stool and addressed the bartender. After making ensuring that her series of drinks would remain uninterrupted, Faye took up the first shot glass and mumbled a quick toast. "To luck." With that said, Faye threw her head back and downed it in one gulp. After the first couple sets of liquor, she looked around with bleary eyes, and noticed that everyone's image was blurry and unfocused. She was gonna have one hell of a hangover. At the end of her binge, she slumped over the bar, overwhelmed by exhaustion. She thought to herself, "God help me, I'm as pitiful as these losers," before completely losing consciousness.

No one noticed the silent inebriated woman sprawled across the counter. No one thought to wake her up and notify her family or friends. No one noticed the hidden eyes that watched her under the cover of the shadows. No one really cared.

She didn't return to the Bebop that night.

End Chapter Two

Author's Note: Hello again. As you can see, I've decided to continue this because of you lovely people who left a review and encouraged me in this direction. Thank you!