Hey! Wow..It's been a little over a week. I hope everybody in the US had a great 4th of July and that everybody in France has a good upcoming 14th of July. I know that China's independence day is in there somewhere, I just forgot when. Anyway, eats the pocky from Nekosune where are my yamyams? XDD Okay...this is a VERY IMPORTANT CHAPTER! xx;During my first run through of the story (before I deleted it and restarted from scratch), I stopped in the middle of the chapter. And, after I had rewritten the story, I stopped at the same point in the chapter. Hmm..I wonder if you guys can guess which part I had trouble "conquering" before I could go on. XD Have fun. :P
Chapter 6:
Send in the Clowns
They were her portable prison; the steel shackles that suffocated her wrists. She couldn't even move her wrists around, without force, that is. She longed to move her hands away from each other; far away. She wanted to spread her arms out wide and move each wrist without moving the other. But, most of all, she wanted to see Spike again, although, she was curious about his relationship with the woman in the bar. Was it just to get her flustered, or was it actually true? There were so many things she wanted to do, but she knew that they were only just dreams; dreams that were so far away from reality.
Even with the handcuffs on, her spirit diminished, and all the rest of her problems, something inside her told her to keep going. So, with whatever will she had left, she strived to keep herself alive, however, the light of her dwindling spirit was starting to flicker out, becoming smaller with each new day; each new attempt at her goal. Food was easy to get, until it ran out, and water would have been just as easy if her glasses and cups she used so often to get herself intoxicated weren't so hard to reach. The only way to get water was to stick her head under the sink, and soon, she became proficient at it. Unfortunately, it would seem soon that all her hard work had been achieved in vain.
"This would be a perfect time for my prince charming to burst in to help me!" she paused and her eyes sunk in sadness. "That would be great…if I had a prince charming." For her, it'd been a long day, so she was just about ready to flop onto her bed and take a long nap. Oblivion seemed better than what she was living now. However, right before she could flop onto her bed, she tripped over herself and hit her head on the curly brass headboard, knocking herself out cold on the floor. What she didn't know is that she didn't trip on herself; she had tripped upon her bad karma.
Oblivious to time, she awoke many an hour later only to feel a burning sensation on her left temple. She reached to feel what the pain was, but her hands would not go. Slowly, her eyes followed the twisting, intertwining design of the only expensive possession she still owned. Following the billowing curls of brass up to a steel chain wrapped into the gnarling helixes, that was her snare; the very place where she tossed her intoxicated body to sleep off any and every pain that crept into her soul. Everything around her hated her, but she saw a way.
"I think I can…get it." She moaned and she stood up and, with the last of her energy, twisted and yanked her hand this way and that. Finally, she could see the hope up ahead. With a whole body motion, she yanked with all her might only to be violently tossed to the ground with her handcuffs even more tangled than when she started. She slumped to the ground, her arms stretched and her wrists bleeding. Tears streamed down her tired face and her eyes almost seemed grey with anguish.
"Forget prince charming…just please, anyone, help me." She sobbed and drifted off to sleep. There was an aura of death around her. A strong smell; strong enough even to keep the Grim Reaper away.
The steady sounds of his footsteps were like a metronome as Spike climbed the staircase. However, this staircase wasn't the staircase of the BeBop; nor was it the staircase to any hotel. These were the stairs that led to Emp's apartment. Emp Nemio, the bounty head that he had feelings for; the woman he had to save. But, would she understand that he had come to help her, not to turn her in? Could she tell that he had finally given into his emotions and had confessed to himself that he had fallen in love with her? He could only hope that she trusted him.
Even though her apartment was at the top of the building, the length of the staircase seemed longer. The wait was unbearable and Spike's metronome footsteps became rushed and erratic. Finally, he reached the top. He walked up to the only door on this flat and stared at it. Behind this door was the woman he loved; the woman who needed his help. Pausing only a second, he approached the door and knocked.
"Emp…it's me. Spike." He said, his voice stern, as usual. Inside, crumpled on the floor, tied to her bed, Emp slowly opened her eyes upon returning from her sleep. She had heard something; something that jogged her memory.
"Please open up. I'm here to help you." Spike continued, his voice loosing its famous cool. He knocked again. "You've got to trust me."
It was Spike! He had come to rescue her. As much as she wanted to yell out to him, she was too ashamed of her predicament.
"Emp…" he became quiet, the silence echoing his sorrow, "please, please tell me you're there…" She couldn't take it. Her heart beat faster and faster as the words were forming in her mind. Tears were flowing down her cheeks and down her chin; her eyes were longing to see his face again.
"Spike. I'm…I'm here." She sobbed, twisting her wrists only to feel the crackling of dried blood.
"You're still there. Emp, open up; I'll help you." He responded, his voice filled with hope and character again.
"I can't open the door." She said. Her chest heaved with sadness as the tears tumbled down her wet face with every realization of her helplessness.
"Why not? What happened?" Spike had his ear to the door, leaning against it eager to hear what she had to say next. Was she hurt? Was she sick? What was wrong?
"N..nothing. Listen! Forget about me! Stop getting yourself in trouble with your colleagues!" she wailed, her chest now heaving desperation.
"What?"
"Just...forget about me!"
"No." his answer surprised Emp. Her breath caught in her throat. Did he actually care about her? No. It didn't matter. He was risking more than he had to for someone like her.
"Why?" she coughed, her voice raspy and dry, her tears streaming as fluidly as ever.
"I can't…let you go." He needed to get to the other side of the door. His mind, as troubled as it was at the time, searched for a way to open the door. Finally, he got the perfect idea. "Emp…what ever you do, stay away from the door."
He pulled out his gun from its holster and aimed it at the key-hole. With one shot, the door silently creaked open. The first thing that Spike saw was Emp, crumpled up on the floor, ready to die, her arms stretched over her head and her wrists hanging, bloody and dead. Her eyes slowly slid up to meet his gaze only to swell up with tears upon seeing his face. He rushed to her and whipped out a key, slid it into the lock and unlocked both her hands. They fell limp to the floor and the blood quickly rushed back into her limbs. Then, she brought her eyes back up to his again. They both sat, silent, staring into each other's gaze. Her eyes swelled up again, but she refused to blink, in fear that when she opened her eyes, he'd be gone.
"You…you came back. You came to save me." She sniveled. He gently began wiping away her tears as they fell from her sullen eyes.
"Don't cry. There's no need to cry." He said, his voice soothing her mind and soul, just like it always did to her. She closed her eyes, moved closer and leaned into him. Her breathing matched his breathing pattern as she drifted off into the sea of dreams, her prince charming watching over her.
Emp was awake, but she refused to open her eyes. There was a twinge in her heart that told her that Spike was gone. However, she'd never know if she didn't open her eyes. She could live with her eyes closed, not knowing, or she could look. With a deep breath, she slowly opened her eyes and, without lifting her head off of the pillow it lay on, she looked around the room. Left and right; all she could see was darkness. But, even in the darkness there were shapes, but none of them the shape of Spike. She sat up, staring at her door, and her eyes flooded with tears.
"Why?" she yelled in anguish. Her words came straight from her tattered heart to her dry lips. "You left me again! Why?"
Spike, lying on the floor next to the bed, sprung up in surprise. What was all that noise? What was going on? He rubbed his eyes and yawned while Emp just stared at him.
"What? You're...still here?" she stuttered, sniffing back her tears. Spike blinked a few times, turned to look her in her beautiful face, and yawned.
"Yeah. Is that a problem?" he said, his humor not even cracking a smile upon his face. Emp's eyes, however, lit up as life flowed into them. Her love! He was still here!
"Wha...what are you doing on the floor?" she inquired, leaning over the edge of the bed, only her wrists to support her.
"Well, after I took your handcuffs off, you fell asleep on me, so I put you on the bed and slept on the floor." He blinked a few more times and stared into her eyes. He hadn't seen them sparkle this much ever since the first time he talked to her in the bar. She was so happy, so unaware of her situation. He was happy that she was back to her normal self; he was happy because she was happy. He revealed a smile and then so did she.
"Spike…" her eyes darted downwards, towards the floor and her eyes brows twisted in thought, "you probably know this but, I…I'm…" Before she could tell him how much she loved him, how much she longed for him, her tender wrists gave out under her weight and she fell forward onto Spike. Luckily, he caught her, but fell back in the process.
They were the closest they've ever been to each other. Nose to nose; eye to eye. She could feel Spike's slow breathing and Spike could feel Emp's racing heartbeat. Emp, however, was still ready to say what she needed to tell him.
"I'm in lov…" she began but she trailed off. Spike's soft discolored eyes soothed her mind and she couldn't get her words out of her mouth.
"I know. I know." He said, his voice as soft as his eyes, but yet, still stern. Emp rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes, cherishing every second she was with him. She ran her fingers slowly through his soft curly hair. Nothing in the world could upset her now that she was safe in his arms.
Spike took one arm and embraced her. Staring straight into the ceiling, he thought deeply about his decision. He was turning his back on all of his colleagues just to love and protect this one woman. Suddenly, the dormant bounty hunter part of his mind, the part of his mind that enable him to stay jaded during bounty hunting situations, popped into his head. This wouldn't work. This was his job, not his pleasure. However, as much as this part of his mind tried to convince him to turn Emp in, he ignored it. But, if he didn't turn her in, then what would he do? He would leave her. He'd go back and lie to Jet, Faye, and Ed. They would have no proof in order to see it was a lie.
"Get up. I have to go. This won't work." He said, and he waited for her to slowly pull herself up off of him so he could leave, but what he heard surprised him
"No." she said and she didn't move an inch. Her face still nestled into his neck.
"Emp. I'm a bounty hunter and…and you're the bounty head. This would never work. Now get up!" his voice was stern now, and if she hadn't been snuggled up next to him, she would have crawled up into a corner and wept. However, she wasn't and so, she continued to play with his hair.
"No." she finally said.
"Why not?" Spike sighed in anger.
"Spike…I love you. Don't leave me again. I wont be able to stand it. Unless…" she paused, her voice slow and sad.
"Unless what?" he said, calming down.
"Unless…you don't love me." There was a long silence that followed. Spike was baffled; of course he loved her. If he didn't, then why was he doing all of these things for her? His strife was almost the same as hers, so how could she say something like that? Emp finally brought her face up to look him in the eye. The sparkles in her eyes were fading as she was practically reading his thoughts in his eyes.
"Of course I do." He finally said, not wanting her eyes to lose life again.
"Then say it." She said the solemn in her voice echoing in his head.
"I just did."
"No! I want to hear you say it!" her voice was frantic now. She knew that he was trying to avoid saying it. What she didn't know was that he couldn't find himself to say it. He was brave in the sense that he could take on many enemies at a time, but he couldn't openly tell the woman he adored that he loved her. Slowly, her eyes solemn and her soul torn, she began to crawl off of him. Spike's mind raced; he didn't know what to do. He was losing her. He loved her too much to let her go. So, he reached out and pulled her face towards his.
The feeling was more than just adoration, obsession, or lust; it was the feeling of love. She didn't have to have her eyes open to see how much he loved her. She didn't need to look into his eyes to read his mind. She could feel his love, just like he could feel hers. She hadn't been kissed in a long time, but she still knew that she loved Spike more than life itself. The bliss she felt swept away any surprise or doubts of his love that she ever had. This proved it all.
Spike, however, had felt a bit surprised at his actions, but the surprise disappeared when his lips touched hers. Of all the fears of humans, his worst fear was losing her, and now he had proved to her that he loved her enough to conquer all fears.
Their intimacy lasted a only few seconds, but it seemed longer than that. Spike finally pulled away and opened his eyes. Emp, with tears yet again streaming down her face, pressed her face against his and ran her fingers through his hair again. Something was different though; her tears weren't tears of anguish this time, but tears of joy.
"Is that enough proof that I love you? Or do you still need more?' he said, his voice quiet and affectionate.
"I love you, Spike. Please, don't leave me. You can't leave me." She sighed and kissed his cheek.
"I'm not leaving. Not now; not ever." He said, wrapped both arms around her in a large embrace then kissed her cheek. They were lost in their love for each other.
Wow...;; I'm still sensing an "OOC" moment for Spikee here, but I could just be beating myself up about it. It's never going to be good enough for me, is it? xx; sigh Anyway...I'm going to leave you until next time with one final thought: I love "love".