Cowboy Bebop Mission: Earth
I do not own Cowboy Bebop. Sunrise owns all of it. I am simply borrowing their characters.
This story is inspired by the song "Good Enough" by 19 Wheels. The music isn't really at all fitting for Cowboy Bebop but it still inspired me. I know all "Spike lives!" stories are kind of a reach but it's hard to do a romance any other way without going AU. I don't know how Spike lived but maybe it'll turn up in this story eventually. Without further adieu let's get on with the show!
Spike Spiegel lay back on the couch. The fan blades above him rotated lazily. He puffed a cigarette patiently waiting for Faye to come through the common room. It was about this time each day she rejoined the world of the living. He'd developed a kind of kinship with her since he'd returned from the dead. Jet was still angry with him for leaving. He could tell by the look in the older man's eyes. Twenty minutes passed like an eternity and still no sign of Faye. Spike hoisted himself off the couch. He'd been slowed down significantly since the siege on the Red Dragon. He hadn't been able to bounty hunt with Faye since he'd returned. She was the sole breadwinner for a time since Jet also was down with his own injury.
The cold of the Bebop was seeping into his bones. Each step was measured and painful. To the untrained eye his gait would seem normal and easygoing. It was only a high tolerance for pain that that et him keep up appearances. Spike walked soundlessly to Faye's room. His footsteps like a whisper, disguising the agony the cold put him into. As he approached Faye's room a kind of fond curiosity washed over him. Was she sleeping? Was she just thinking? We all need a little time to ourselves. Cautiously he approached the door. After a soft knock she answered in a pleasant voice. "Come in."
Spike casually walked in the door to see Faye packing. She wore dark denim cut-offs and a red t-shirt bearing the name of some Martian casino. Her usual ankle boots were replaced with a pair of brown leather hiking boots. Part of her hair was pulled back in a messy clip. She smiled as she turned around to face him. "How are you feeling, Spike?"
"Usual," he shrugged. "Where are you going?"
"Well, since you're recovered enough and Jet can get by on his own I thought I'd go back to earth for a little while. Since my memory came back I've had time to process things. I'd like to spend a bit near my roots." She turned back towards the mirror re-adjusting her hair, pinning up the loose ends. She started to hum as she worked. As she primped Spike stared into the mirror at her face. A strange feeling was welling up inside. Before he knew what he was doing he blurted the words out:
"I'm going with you." Faye turned towards him visibly startled.
"Spike, this isn't your problem. This is my past. I'm JUST visiting." His eyes showed no waver in his decision.
"I'm going with you."
"Look, it's just Earth! I went to Callisto you couldn't have cared less. You had to face your demons alone." She noticed the concern etched on his near-stoic features. "Spike, my demons aren't like yours. Anyone I would have to fear is long gone. I just want to re-connect with the self I was before I was in cryo-sleep. I just have to do this on my own."
Spike took a step closer. "I couldn't protect one woman. I won't let anything happen to you."
He said the words quietly with force behind each syllable.
"I'm not Julia, Spike."
"I never said you were."
She stared at him. She was a capable woman. She could more than take care of herself. She was strong, smart, she could use a gun, and had gotten herself out of plenty of sticky situations before. Still, none of this would really dissuade him. Once Spike's mind was made up NOTHING in the world could stop him. She sighed in defeat and zipped up her duffle bag. It wasn't worth talking to him about. "I can take care of myself so leave me the Hell alone!" she said as she walked out of the room. Spike was left alone in the dim room. He couldn't help but smile. She was still Faye no matter how much she seemed to change.
A few minutes later Spike had made his way back to the common room. Jet was watching the news on TV with great interest. "What do you want, Spike?" Jet said in harshly. His gravelly voice made him sound gruffer than he truly was.
"Just wanted to warn you of my upcoming absence," Spike said.
"Another Red Dragon headquarters needs to be wiped out?" the older man said, his eyes never moving from the television. Spike winced internally at those words. He had no doubt his actions had hurt the man deeply. His sarcasm only reinforced the idea.
"No."
"Then what is it?"
"I'm going to Earth." Spike said. "With Faye."
"With Faye? Why? I thought you two couldn't stand each other." Jet said still refusing to look at him.
"I feel obligated I guess," Spike lied. "for her taking care of us and everything."
"Well, why are you telling me this? Are you looking for permission? You never seemed to listen to me before." He finally looked Spike in the eye. Jet's bitterness was getting old.
"Damn it, Jet! I can't atone forever. I did what I had to do. Can't you understand that? Can't you let it go? I didn't want to get you involved! I didn't want to get Faye involved. What if I had stayed? Vicious would have come after me!" Spike said angrily.
"We would have stood by you. We thought you were dead! Do you have any idea what that did to us? What that did to Faye?" Jet spat.
"Look! People were hurt because of me, people I cared about. I couldn't stand the idea of anyone else being hurt because of me. I had to end it. I was not going to let anything happen to anyone else. My life isn't worth all the blood that's been spilled." Spike shouted.
"You have no idea what we went through! You have no goddamn clue! Not knowing was the worst. I watched Faye wasting away before my eyes. If you gave a shit about us you would have given us the choice rather than making it for us." Spike looked down in shame.
"I'm sorry you feel that way. Look. I'm going to be back. If you need me just call my communicator."
"Doesn't bother me any, Spike. You all come and go as you please. I may not be docked here." He got up taking his cane from the side of the couch. "Do whatever the Hell you two want. I'll get some goddamn peace and quiet. None of you will be eating my food or wasting the electricity." He hobbled towards the kitchen with his cane. "It'll be a relief," Jet said as he disappeared from view.
Spike breathed a sigh of relief. He was one step closer to Jet forgiving him. He'd finally gotten a rise out of the old man instead of the usual glare whenever he walked by. Spike walked towards the hangar. He whistled casually as he walked through the ship. It was a lot quieter without Ed and the dog. Things just seemed so much more serious. There was no laughter on the ship. There was only tension and blame. Ed and Ein's antics had always lightened the mood. He leaned against the Swordfish II smoking a cigarette. That damn woman took forever. Julia had been pretty high maintenance. Faye was a tomboy compared to her really. She had no problems getting her hands dirty.
The echo of footsteps broke Spike's concentration. "About friggin' time, Faye. I was beginning to think you'd changed your mind."
"I was hoping you would have changed yours, Gawjo." Faye said. Her hand rested on her hip. Her eyes flashed with anger. He couldn't help but be a tad excited by that.
"I'll see you on Earth, Romani." With that Spike climbed into his ship, landing nimbly in the cockpit. He held back a cry of pain as he hit the seat hard. Faye glared at him as she threw her duffle bag in the back of the Redtail. She hopped in and braced herself for the the initial swoop into space. The bay doors started to open up to the darkness of space. She counted the seconds before the doors would open adequately for her ship to fly out. "Three.." she said allowing her engines to warm up a bit. "Two..." she muttered flipping on a few switches. "One..." she said about to floor it but Spike's ship cut her off. "Dammit! He's gotta wait for me anyway!" Faye shouted at no one. She flew out into the darkness leaving a faint trail in her wake.
"Hey, Faye." Spike's voice said the second before he popped up on her monitor. "Getting slow in your old age?"
"You, asshole! You don't know where you're going anyways so why did you cut me off?" Faye screamed at him. He ended his transmission.
"I knew you'd catch up with me eventually." He cruised up next to her.
"Well you're going to have to do better than that to keep up with me." Faye said dropping off and heading off to the left.
"Damn woman! What's she trying to do?" Spike followed her and started a chase. He followed her closely as she swerved this way and that, cruised straight up and eventually chased her back towards the Bebop. Jet looked up in time to see Faye with Spike in hot pursuit cruising at insane speeds within meters of the ship.
"Those two are insane!" Jet yelled in frustration. He stomped towards the common room. He figured watching through the Bebop's large windows would only encourage the crazy twosome. They circled the ship around and around at least three times before Faye shot off into space. Spike's ship easily kept up with the Redtail.
"You'll have to do better than that, Faye," Spike said into the ship's communicator.
"Grrrrrrrrr..." Faye grumbled. She recklessly looped around behind Spike and started shooting at him.
"Hey!" Spike maneuvered out of the line of fire. "What the Hell was that for?" Faye ignored him and took off towards Earth straight over him. "Damn woman…" he muttered as he took off after her.
Faye approached Earth and slowed down significantly. A smile crept over her lips. The blue oceans covering the planet gave it such a shine. She simply drifted a few moments before typing in more exact coordinates to get her to her destination. Earth was definitely where she was from. She wouldn't necessarily call it her home. She probably didn't have a home. Earth was definitely a touchstone though. "Being from Mars, Spike really couldn't understand," she thought. Each continent seemed to be placed perfectly. The meteors made Earth almost uninhabitable. Still, there was nothing quite as beautiful as the view of it from space. No planet even came close. She could see Spike whizzing up behind her. She pressed a button on the console reluctantly. "Here we go," she said as her ship turned towards the west coast of North America.
"Hey, Faye, where are we going?" Spike asked over the intercom.
"Follow my lead, Cowboy. We're heading to the area formerly the culture capital of the Western World. Los Angeles here we come!"
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If anyone likes this story I will continue it. Next our fine heroes will arrive in Faye's former city to find things not quite as they were. The actions of the characters may surprise you. If you like please read my other (completely unrelated) story "Are You Sad?". Is it just me..or is it getting' a lil 'shippy in here?