Hi to everyone. Just a little a/n before we start. This is my first Bebop ficlet, but I've been a big fan of the series for ages. And yes, when I get super-crazy hyper, I act a little like Ed, but slightly more deranged, if that is entirely possible. I do not own any of the Bebop crew or characters, much to my extreme disgust, but I guess I'll have to be content with wearing my Bebop DVDS out with over usage. Please enjoy, leave a review and have a look at my other fics if you're interested. I'll try to make regular updates.
CHERRY TOMATO
Session One
"…Jet?" The voice was quiet and wavering, issuing from the full lips of a scantily clad woman sprawled out on her back on a heavily patched and repaired sofa. Jet Black, former police detective looked up from his mangled bonsai tree, trying to repair it from an encounter with Edward.
"God damn it! What, Faye?"
"Oh…nothing." Jet turned back to his work.
"…Jet?" His concentration shattered, Jet slammed the pair of clippers he was holding down on the coffee table.
"WHAT?"
"Spike's been gone a long time…"
"Tch, is that all? Spike's a big boy. I'm sure he can survive for a few hours on Mars. Fuel's getting pretty hard to find these days. The last bounty only just covered the bill for the Bebop's tanks."
"Well, maybe if you tried updating this tin can, you'd find-"
"TIN CAN? I don't see you complaining when it carries you and your ship all around the galaxy for nothing."
"HEY! I DO PLENTY AROUND HERE!"
"OH YEAH? LIKE WHAT?"
"Uhhh…"
"HA! SEE? IT'S JUST LIKE I SAID, YOU-"
A visual communicator, come television screen crackled and fizzled into life. Both adults left off their argument, surprised, and sat down in front of the screen. With his mechanical arm, Jet gave it a none-too friendly tap. Spike's blurry face appeared. Smiling, Jet bent down closer.
"Hey, buddy. Did you pick up the order I sent with you?"
"The fuel? Yeah, I got that."
"Great, well come back to the Bebop, and we'll have some noodles"
"As great as that sounds right now Jet, I…can't."
"Huh? You're saying no to food? What's wrong? Are you sick?"
The young man in the screen scratched his neck, somewhat apologetically.
"No…it's nothing like that. I've…"
"I've.." Faye prompted.
"I've lost Ed!"
"WHAT?" Both Jet and Faye leaned closer to the screen.
"What happened?"
Spike looked irritated and flustered.
"We were walking down the street- to get the fuel, when all of a sudden, she spots this guy in the crowd and takes off after him!"
Faye looked somewhat worried; "Did she say anything before she left?"
"Sure, she said plenty. Though the only two words I picked up were "Papa and Tomato!"
"Papa…Tomato? Her computer, Tomato?"
"Hey, don't ask me to translate for you. I don't speak crazy."
Massaging his temples, Jet gave a small sigh. Today was not his day…
"Ok, come back to the ship. Maybe if we stick around for a while, she'll just turn up?"
"Whatever. See you soon." With a blip, the screen turned black.
"Damn Kid. Knew it was bad luck to have one on board. This is your entire stupid fault, Faye. You and your stupid promises."
Faye Valentine rolled her eyes and settled back down on the sofa. "It got the job done, didn't it? Besides, you're always complaining about how you wish you could get rid of Ed. Look at this morning. She tried to eat your little tree!"
Jet sniffed loudly and turned stiffly away towards the kitchen.
"Yeah, I guess."
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Breathe. Just breathe and keep running. Huh? A RAMEN STAND! No, Edward must resist…must… must…
With blood pounding in her ears, a tanned young girl with startling red hair stopped in the middle of the crowded Mars street, sat down and began to wail her piteous state.
"Edward is so hun-gry! Who will feed Edward?" Hopefully, she looked up at the faces of the people passing by. They dismissed her at a glance. One whispered loudly to his companion,
"Earth peasant." The other nodded and looked down at Ed as though she were something extremely slimy and foul smelling. They walked off into the crowd to pass their hasty judgment on to someone else.
Groaning, Ed stood up, patting her grumbling stomach.
"Ed will get something to put inside you." The ramen vendor waved a slotted spoon at her.
"Are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to buy something?"
Floating on the scent of warm, spicy food, Ed bumped against the brightly coloured cloth covering the table of the stand.
"Ooo, gimmiegimmiegimme!" The vendor slapped her hand away from a steaming vat.
"Money first."
"Edward doesn't have any money."
"Too bad for you, then."
"Awwww…. Hey, wait a second!" Ed's glum face brightened immediately, "Ed can ask Spike-person for money! SSSPPPIIKKKE!" Not hearing a reply, Ed turned away from the noodles back into the street. People chattered to each other as they walked on the pavement. A bicycle whizzed past, narrowly missing a dog nosing around in the gutter. A child tugged at his mother's skirt outside a busy restaurant, begging her to buy him an ice cream cone. Spike was nowhere to be seen. Ed's voice was small and confused.
"Spike?"
No answer.
"Where did you go?"
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Pulling off his boots, Spike threw them over the back of the sofa and watched as Jet poured boiling water over three cups of instant noodles. Waiting for them to cook, the trio sat and looked dejectedly at each other.
"Y'know," Spike began, "These noodles could use a little chili sauce."
"Chili sauce costs money. There's some old soy stuff floating around in the back of the cold locker."
"Hmm.."
"But it expired about a year ago, I think." Spike paused in getting up, but then continued on his way.
"Guess I better go get it then."
"This is what we're reduced to? Instant noodles and expired sauce?" Faye flopped back against the sofa, one hand against her forehead dramatically. "A fair beauty like me…withering away into nothing."
"It'd be one less mouth to feed." Jet grumbled. A crash followed by a series of short, loud barks came from the passageway. Shouting angrily, Spike stomped into the lounge quarters, holding Ein, the Welsh Corgi up by the collar and shaking him like a plush toy. Ein was trying to chomp whichever part of Spike he could grab a hold of with his milky white teeth.
"STUPID DOG! JET! YOUR MUTT COST ME MY SAUCE!" Jet stood and managed to rescue Ein from the crazed grasp of Spike.
"Calm down. " Ein licked Jet's face lovingly. "You'll just have to have your noodles plain."
Spike held his head as if it were about to split in two.
"GGGRRAAAAH! THREE THINGS I SAID THAT I DID NOT WANT ON THIS FORSAKEN RUST BUCKET! PETS, WOMEN, AND…AND," Breathing heavily, Spike snatched up his noodles and began wolfing them down.
"Children…" Jet finished quietly.
Faye looked up at Jet, who was staring down at his shoes. Silently she reached across the table and swiped his meal. Obviously, he would not want to eat at a time like this, she thought slyly to herself.
"I'm going to bed."
Spike continued to wrestle with Faye for possession of the extra food.
"Okay then. Nighty night. Don't let the bed bugs bite!"
Muttering, Jet left them trying to kill each other and opened the electronic door to his sleeping quarters. How could the bug bite? It was lost, somewhere on the dark streets of Mars.