Dinner was unusually silent.
Jet cast speculative, sidelong glances at the other so- called adults at the table. Spike and Faye had eyes only for their food, and had seemed to be avoiding each other for the past few days. I wonder… nah.
Edward and Ein happily devoured their helpings. "More!" Edward demanded, holding out her bowl, and Ein added an appealing bark.
"Get it yourself, you know where it is." Jet told her.
Edward carefully balanced the bowl on her head in a manner reminiscent of the Tomato, sprang straight upward, and bounded into the kitchen. Ein trotted along behind her with his own bowl in his teeth.
"What's up with you two?" Jet decided to bite the bullet.
"Nothing." they chorused, looking at each other, then jerking their heads away.
Jet raised his eyebrows. "Oh? Tell me about this nothing."
Faye gulped the rest of her own portion and stood up. "Nothing, Jet. Just because we don't want to yabber like Edward there has to be something wrong?" She stomped off to her room and slammed the door shut.
Jet looked to Spike for an explanation. His partner just shrugged, offered a brief, "Hormones," and directed his full attention back to his meal. Jet rolled his eyes and copied Spike's example.
*
"Edward!" Faye yelled, pulling her foot out of the girl's reach.
Edward cocked her head and giggled. She was oddly contorted; she was doing a handstand, but had craned her head far enough back to be able to see what her feet were doing.
Edward's first and second toes held the brush to a bottle the bottle of fingernail polish that she had been using to paint Faye's toenails. Edward had really done a remarkable job, considering; although it wasn't up to her usual standard, she'd managed not to get any polish outside of the nail.
Faye didn't care.
She bodily tossed the girl into the hall, when she noticed something. "Wait… Edward, do a handstand again."
The youngest member of the Bebop cheerily complied.
Faye eyed her speculatively. "I think we'd better get you a training bra."
Edward fell on her head. "What, Faye- Faye?" she squeaked, rubbing the sore spot.
"A training bra, Edward. How old are you?"
"Edward is thirteen."
"Yeah, you definitely need one." Faye concluded. "We can't get one on Calisto, but there's bound to be somewhere nearby."
Edward made a face. "Edward does not want a training bra."
"Too bad." Faye breezily brushed off the girl's objections and went back into her room, in a much improved mood. There was nothing like shopping- or even the promise of it- to lift a girl's spirits!
Unless you were Edward Wong Hau Pepulu Tivrusky the Fourth. "But Edward does not want a training bra." she told Ein, who whined sympathetically.
"What's that?" Spike stopped short, startled.
Edward turned huge, mournful brown eyes up to him. "Edward does not want a training bra." she repeated. "Faye- Faye says Edward needs a training bra."
Spike's face twisted in distaste. "I wouldn't know anything about that, kid."
Edward watched him go and petted Ein, who had crawled up in her lap.
I know that was REALLY short, and I'm sorry, but I decided to go ahead and split this and the trip to Calisto. The next chapter will be a bit weightier than this one. (Remember the Bebop's first visit to Calisto?) This story's kind of bipolar, isn't it? Weird. I hope it holds together. *spreads hands and twists face into rueful expression* And the next time you check this story, my username will probably be changed to Pyrinsomniac. Oh, yeah! Cookies to: Meheeners!