Disclaimer: Um...yeah...it's not mine.
AN: Heyah, just another oneshot ready for ya! Hope you like.
Title/Song: Come Back
Artist: Josh Rouse
Pairings: Ed/Ein friendship
Genre: General
Come Back
I've been waiting for the longest time; I want you to come back…
Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, or Françoise, as she was currently going by at the Internet Café in which she worked, was enjoying her lunch break, humming along to a song that played in the café and reading the paper, when the sudden sharp bark of a dog captured her attention. Her head jolted upright suddenly, amber eyes scanning the window she sat by for the source of the sound. Sounded just like a corgi, she thought, and her heart raced sporadically at the thought.
Ein.
Ein was gone. She didn't know where, or what had become of him. All she knew was that, upon returning to her little apartment one day last month, he was gone. How that had happened, she wasn't sure, seeing as her apartment was on the sixth floor, and there was no way he could have opened the window in order to get to the fire escape. Only logical thing he could've done was take the elevator. And, Ein being Ein, he probably did take the elevator. So, assuming he wasn't dead (Ed just had the feeling that he was just too darn smart for that) she searched all the animal shelters and dog pounds in the local areas. Ein was a smart dog, but he couldn't have gone too far, could he?
She had no idea.
Ed's eyes scanned the window once more before she finally made up her mind to actually go outside and investigate. Tucking the paper under her arm and wrapping her half finished sandwich back into its plastic bag, she walked past the net browsing customers and out the door of the café. She glanced up one end of the street as far as her eyes would let her, but no Ein. She glanced down the other end, but still, no Ein. In fact, there was no trace of a dog anywhere on the street.
Had she been hearing things?
Disappointed and melancholy, she pouted and let out a sad sigh. To most people, losing a dog was traumatic enough as it was. Losing Ein, to Ed, was beyond traumatic. It was crucial, in her opinion to find him. And finding him, in the last month, had become her obsession. Of course, had anyone known that she was searching as diligently as she was for and illegal data dog, they'd more than likely try finding him for themselves, and so, she refused to offer an award for the dog. Besides, she didn't think a price should be put upon the head of anything so precious. Ein was family to her, the last of a remnant of a couple of stray cowboys who had roamed the galaxy in search of that one big bounty that would solve everything, and maybe in search of something that none of them had ever really had.
Spike, she knew, was dead. God only knew what happened to Faye. And Jet hadn't tried tracking her down in the last seven years since she left the Bebop. So far, it had only been she and Ein. And now Ein was gone.
Of all the unfortunate things to happen to her.
The sounds of a shrill voice suddenly evaded her thoughts. Ed turned around to see what the problem was and was confronted by a very agitated woman in a blue polka dotted dress. "Shoo, I say!" she screamed, on the verge of panic, at something on the ground. Ed's eyes followed the woman's screaming to a brown lump on the threshold of the café doors. The lump cocked its head to the side, staring up at the lady as if she were crazy, then wagged its tail and turned around to face Ed. Her eyes bulged slap near out her head as she stared unbelievingly at the corgi currently facing her.
"Ein!" she screamed estactically and kneeling (dropping the paper and the sandwich in the process) held her arms out to the little short legged dog in front of her. Ein trotted over to his friend and into her arms, giving her a lick on the face for good measure. Ed was on the verge of tears as the door opened again and her manager, a skinny little shred of a man with huge glasses and a thin moustache, came outside to see what all the ruckus was about. "Françoise," he said quietly and rather sourly, "What is this about?" "I found my Ein!" she exclaimed with her trademark grin "He's been missing and I'm so happy to see him!" Then she giggled, causing the manager to frown petulantly at her as if she were useless. The lady in the blue polka dotted dress, however, shared none of her sentiments. "Get this little mongrel away from me, or I'll sue! Dogs don't belong in cafes!" Ed's (or was it Françoise's?) manager blushed and began to stutter apology after apology to the woman. "I'm so sorry, ma'am, it'll never ever happen again, will it Françoise?" he mumbled, glaring at Edward who was currently holding Ein protectively away from the woman.
"Of course not," she said in the most regal of manners, and turned on her heels to walk resolutely down the street. "Where do you think you're going, young lady!" the manager screamed, eyes bulging out of his head, hand wiping his brow frantically. "Home," she called over her shoulder and never looked back.
Once her things (and Ein) were packed into her second hand monopod, Edward took off and left the city behind her, and Françoise as well. She punched in some coordinates and high tailed it for Ganymede, where she knew someone would be waiting for her.
"Do you think Jet-person will be happy to see Ed and Ein?" she asked the dog, perched comfortably in her lap. Ein cocked his head to the side as if in thought, then barked as if to say yes. Grinning, Ed leaned back and stroked the soft fur of his back, unaware of the things swirling around in his head.
He'll be happy to see us, Ed, the dog thought, before settling in to take a nap. He, and Faye, and the new baby, too.
Ed, of course wouldn't know any of this until a few days later, when she landed in Ganymede and found the Bebop, and with it Jet and Faye and their daughter Spiegel. But Ein knew, because Ein had found them before he came back to Ed.
Ein had left Ed, not because he didn't want to be with her, but because he wanted to find home.
Okay, so tell me what you think about that one.
R and R, please.
BB