Disclaimer: I don't own Cowboy Bebop or "1000 Yard Stare" by doubleDrive
A/N: Thanks once again for the reviews. You guys rule. This will be a fairly awkward chapter. I've already started work on the next few, but I'm still having trouble with this one. Anyway, I'll shut up now and get on with it. Oh, and tonight will be a double upload (to make up for this lacking chapter).
Session 4:
1000 Yard Stare
There ain't nobody who's gonna wait so long...
I wish they'd know...
I guess I got what I deserved. I mean, I did bail out on him. The least Jet could've done was give me a chance to come back, though. I leave for a few days to look for an old friend and I come back to an empty spot in the water where the Bebop used to be. One of the locals told me they left Ganymede all together. Figures.
There really needs to be something like Callisto, only with all women. Men are so unreliable. They never think of anyone besides themselves. They're such bastards. I hate them.
I mean, they come and thaw you out. They bring you into this brand new world. They teach you how to live your life again. They take you out on the town and win your heart. What's next? Marriage? Happiness? No. Next, they fake their own death and leave you with all of their debts.
Or they come along and act like a friend. When everyone is disrespecting you, they're there to listen. To tell them everything you're feeling, and they know just what to say in response. Even when you pull a gun on them in the shower, they don't seem to mind too much. That is, until they leave you hand cuffed on a bed while they go off to some other planet.
Or they treat you like complete trash. They mock you. They have a rude comment for everything you say. They smoke and drink constantly. You save their lives and don't even get a thank you in return. And somehow they touch you in a way no one else has. Just when you're warming up to them, and you think their warming up to you, that's when it ends. They leave you there firing your gun as they walk into a death trap for the sake of facing their pasts.
Or they take you in when no one else would. They give you a place to stay. They let you work with them. They cook and serve your meals (no matter how bad they taste). They repair your ship. They make themselves the father that you wish you had when you were a kid. Then, as soon as you turn your back, they take off.
I hate them all. Why the hell do I have to miss them all so much?
I don't care...
I've got to lose myself to get somewhere...
Mars is a crowded place. It's an easy place for someone like Faye Valentine to get lost in, which was exactly what she wanted. Too much was going on in her head right now. There were only a few people in this universe that she could be eased by, and none of them were there for her. Might as well be alone.
A simple way to take her mind off of thing was watching. Watching anything. On the Bebop, stressful nights were made livable by watching that tape. That strange tape of a little girl that had the same name as she. Faye sometimes doubted it was her - she could never remember being that young.
But there was no tape with her now to help ease her mind. She would have to settle for watching people. The market areas of Mars were always good for such a task. Even as the evening began to descend on the street, it was still filled with people. All different kinds of pawns in Faye's mental game. Short. Tall. Fat. Skinny. Old. Young. Lanky. Stocky. Muscular. Ugly. Beautiful. Gren.
Faye's can of Pippu [1] clattered as it fell to the sidewalk below her feet. Gren!? She couldn't believe her eyes. She shook the cobwebs out of her head. She had to be seeing things. She looked again. He wasn't there.
No, Gren was nowhere to be seen. Her eyes must've been playing tricks on her. Maybe she had more on her mind than she thought. It was a shame. The man always had that strange sense of timing - it wouldn't have been that odd for him to pop up at that moment. But alas, he wasn't there.
With a sigh of defeat, Faye turned to head back to her Red Tail. With no woolongs, her trusty jet had become her temporary home. As she walked with her head bend solemnly to the ground, she hit something hard. She braced herself for impact as she fell backwards towards the ground.
The pain never came. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw that face again - Gren's. It was only inches from her own. His features still held the remnants of worry, but he soon smiled happily.
Faye simply stared. This time she wouldn't shake the image from her head. No, this was no image. She could feel his arms keeping her from falling. She was close enough to feel his secret. He had a strange sense of timing, indeed.
And when he spoke, the image was finally shaken from her head and replaced by all the memories and reasons why she had been so drawn to him in the first place. He had such an alluring voice. "You know, maybe I was wrong about you. I thought you stood out so much on Callisto because you were a woman. But word of you travels fast even on Mars."
Lure me far from home....
Light years...
[1] - Pippu? That's what it said on all the soda cans in the show, right?
To My Reviewers:
Kyra: You are WAY too nice to me. It's gonna start going to my head if you don't watch out. And who could forget Loser Bar?? Not me. I think it might make a comeback, just cuz I like the name. You're right, Jet doesn't get enough play around here. I know a lot of people don't like him that much, but I'm giving him a good part in this later on.
Minty Fresh Socks: Yeah, I think the songs add a lot, too. That's why I'm trying so hard to make them fit. You might've noticed I had a bit of trouble with this chapter (only used like three lines). And about Jet, I saw an interview with Bebop's creator (Wantanbe?) and he said Jet was supposed to be like the father. I didn't really get that from the show, so I wanted to pull it out more here.
Aries: I have a confession to make - the title isn't from my imagination. It's a song (like all the "session" names). But I'm still glad it drew you in! See you Space Cowgirl (I couldn't help myself, either).