a/n: first off, i wasn't going to post this chapter until tomorrow, but i decided to switch things up a bit, and get this out for labor day. you're welcome.
so, this chapter is short, sweet, and interesting (not to the point, though). i guess spike kinda 'sees the light' in this chapter, thanks to our beloved genius hacker. i'm sorry if ed seems ooc, but how much do we know about ed, anyway? and keep in mind, she's still slightly reeling from her ice cream fiasco. well, on to it, then.
9. Island Talks
Spike sat at the little metal island that stood in the middle of the kitchen. He sipped at his coffee, noting that he needed to add a little more sugar. Tossing in a teaspoon more, he mixed the liquid together and drank up. Hunched over and resting his head on his hand, Spike stared blankly at the grains of sugar on the countertop, trying aimlessly to move them with his mind. It was entirely too early in the morning to do anything else.
"If Spike-person stares hard enough, maybe he should take a picture," Ed said as she ambled into the kitchen.
"Hey Ed, how you feeling?"
"Ed's stomach is still a little woozy, oozy, but I'm almost back to okie dokie."
Spike smiled lightly as he watched the girl pull open the fridge and take a hit off of the pepto bismal that had been her saving grace over the past couple of days. And least she learned a lesson, he thought, despite how she went about learning said lesson. He was also mildly glad that, for a little while at least, the wild beast that was Ed had been tamed. She still insisted on speaking in her ridiculous riddles, but at least she wasn't literally bouncing off the walls anymore. In a short time, though, she'd be back to normal.
"So, Spike-person," Ed ventured to say as she sat opposite of him. "Why are you up so early-birdie?"
"I couldn't sleep," he told her, wondering if he was actually going to have a conversation with her.
"Ed has noticed that you have trouble sleeping a lot, lately. Is Spike-person having spooky, scary dreams?"
"Not quite," Spike trailed off. He wasn't going to devastate the girl by telling her that his waking life was far worse than any nightmare.
"Then what is it? Ed knows that she isn't you're favorite person to talk too, but I am willing to listen. I always have been, Spike-person, you just never tried to talk."
Spike looked at his red-headed companion, noticing that though she was the same, a part of her had matured. He wondered when that happened, but then remembered that he had spent quite a while in a haze.
"I'm sorry, Ed," he confessed. "I haven't been all that fair with you since…well, since ever, really. I guess it's just weird to think about having conversations with a thirteen year old girl."
"Edward is fifteen, Spike-person!" She shouted, almost insulted.
"When did that happen?"
"When you weren't looking, lunkhead, lunkhead. Ed never told anyone when her birthday was because Ed never celebrated before. Well, I think I did once, but that was a long time ago when mother-lady was still alive. When she went away, it was just me and father-person, but he is very forgetful."
"Sorry about that, Ed. It doesn't seem like any of us are really into birthdays around here. Hell, mine and Jet's have come and gone many times, but the most we ever did for each other was buy each other a beer."
"What about Faye-Faye?"
"Gee…I never asked her when hers was. I guess I wasn't sure if she'd remember."
"She has her mindful memories back, so I bet she knows."
"Yeah…maybe we'll just have to have one big birthday celebration for all of us, huh?"
"Ed would like that very much, Spike-person. It's always nicey-nice to have family say they love you."
"Yeah, I guess so…"
Spike trailed off and thought about what she had said. Birthdays weren't all that they were cracked up to be, in his mind. He was never big on celebrations, and he wasn't a fan of getting older, either. But if getting older meant that he'd finally get some sense knocked into him, then maybe he'd hop on this band wagon, after all.
"So Spike-person never said why he couldn't sleep. Talky-talking helps a lot, Ed knows."
"You don't want to know the sordid details of my life, Ed. Even I don't want to know the sordid details of my life."
"If Ed can speak freely," the girl started, obviously intent on speaking freely either way, "Ed has noticed that you are hiding again."
"Hiding? But I'm right here," Spike said, perplexed by her words.
"Not hide-and-go-seek hiding, but inside hiding. Like you are afraid to show your real life self to us again. Ed remembers that you have always been like this, but every now and then, you would be candied with us…"
"You mean 'candid'," Spike corrected her.
"Either way," she glared at him, not too happy about the correction, "you are hiding from us, like you are afraid of us. It's a crazy, weird thing, but Bebop-Bebop is a family, and we don't back away from each other.
"Since the baby went away, you and Faye-Faye don't talk anymore, and even Ed knows that that is strange. And you love Faye-Faye, anyone can see that. So what Ed doesn't understand, is why you are staying away from her. And why you are staying away from all of us. Ed does not like it because the last time you stayed away, you almost went away, too.
"Ed does not want you to die, Spike-person, and I have a feeling that you don't want to, either. But when you hide, it is like you don't feel like you belong here, and that isn't true. If you don't belong here, then none of us do.
"You are a good person, even if you don't always think so. I like you, and that means that you're good. Please, Spike-person, don't hide anymore. And even though Ed is just fifteen, Ed is not dumb. Don't do what you did last time, okay?"
Spike was all but dumbfounded as he listened to Ed's words. When had this kid become so intuitive? Had she always been that way? Maybe if had have paid more attention to her, he would have known. But regardless, here she was now, trying her best to explain him to well, himself. Under normal circumstances, she might have made sense, too, but Spike was too deep into debt, too far into trouble to be brought back out by her words.
"So how long have you wanted to say that to me?" He asked the girl across from him.
"Since Spike-person yelled at Ed. But I was scared. Now, though, I know that you wouldn't hurt Ed. You might yell at me, but that's nothing new; you yell at all the women on this ship…"
Spike cocked an eyebrow as Ed described herself as a 'woman', and chuckled slightly as she laughed.
"…But I just want you to know that. I always wanted to tell father-person things like that, but I never really got the chance to. And when Ed and Ein went to find him, he never stayed put long enough to listen. Ed isn't saying that father-person is bad, he is just…preoccupied. He doesn't really have time for Ed, so Ed won't waste her time trying to convince him.
"You've stayed, though, Spike-person, and you've put up with all of my antics. You are now an important part of Ed's life, and I just wanted to tell you things before you went and did something stupid again."
"So you think the things I do are stupid?"
"Well, not all the things you do, but a lot of them are. At least that's what Faye-Faye and Jet-person say."
He rolled his eyes at that comment, mentally reminding his self to give his comrades an extra bit of hell for that.
"I guess I appreciate that, Ed. We've never actually talked to each other, and I guess it's my fault for not taking the opportunity, huh? Well, I never said I was good with kids."
"Ed thinks you would be a good father-person."
"Really?"
"Yep, yep, really."
"Well, I guess we'll never know, huh?"
"Never say never, Spike-person. Tomorrow's another day, right?"
"Do you even know where babies come from, Ed?"
"Ed is not stupid, Spike-person. Ed knows there is no stork that brings babies to the hospital."
Spike blushed oh so slightly as he realized that Ed was educated, and left the subject alone.
"Well, Spike-person, thanks for listening to Edward," the girl told him as she stood up and stretched.
"Yeah, anytime, kid. Maybe I'll start listening to you more."
"That'd be nice. Ed does not like being left out of the loop. And Spike-person…?"
"Yeah, Ed?"
"I'm not going to ask you to promise, because I know you're bad with promises, but could you try not to do anything stupid? Ed has a bad feeling, like something is going to happen with you, so please, try and listen to what I've said."
He watched the girl turned young woman as she paused at the opening of the kitchen. There was a look in her eye that he couldn't quite place, but if he had to give it a name, he'd be tempted to call it fear or pity. Sighing quietly, and glad that she didn't make him promise, he swallowed in his suddenly dry throat and nodded to her.
"I'll try, Ed, I really will."
Her eyes lit up at his words, though he could tell that she wasn't too keen on believing him. Obviously she knew him too well, and had gained that ability to begin to see through him. But letting things go for now, she slowly flittered back up to him and kissed him on the cheek, then she headed out of the kitchen and got lost in the Bebop once again.
Turning back to his coffee, which had now grown cold, Spike took one last sip before getting up. He went to the sink and poured out the rest of his drink, then rinsed out the cup and put it away. Leaning back on the counter, Spike looked up at the ceiling and sighed. He seemed to keep forgetting that his actions affected more than just him. He was part of a family, whether he liked it or not, and to hurt himself was to hurt everyone.
It hit him that he was really a screw up, and once again, he was sending this ship into a whirlpool of disaster. How was it that he kept getting himself into such trouble? It seemed to be his middle name, as cliché as that was. Pushing away from the counter and really absorbing the words that Ed had said to him, Spike resolved to try, as she had asked, and not do anything stupid.
He felt what she felt, that something not so good was lingering on the horizon, but if he went about things the right way, then maybe he could stave off that storm. Suddenly believing that he could fix things, that maybe, just maybe life could get back to some semblance of okay, Spike became intent on putting back together the things that he was taking apart.
First, he'd call things off with Delilah, even though that's what he was planning to do all along. Then instead of continuing to fuck things up with Faye, he'd apologize to her, beg for forgiveness if he had to, and get things back on track for them. Hell, maybe he'd even apologize to Jet and thank the old-timer for all the things he did for him. But he'd pace himself, since he was still new to this fixing your problems deal, and apologize, one person at a time. After all, he couldn't go too soft, too soon, now could he.
and that's how that goes. thank goodness for ed, right? at least something has gotten spike back into the right swing of things. however, this fic isn't even half over yet, so suffice to say, things aren't going to clear themselves up so soon. well, until next time then. thanks for stopping by!
phoenix
