Disclaimer: Don't own it
As requested, I'm continuing it! Thanks to all who reviewed the first one, I REALLY appreciate it, and I'll try my best to take the suggestions and criticisms and make this one better. If not, shoot me. :]
This will cross over into a Romance/Drama fic, as promised and I have some juicy ideas flowing for this one, so hopefully you'll enjoy it. Between part time modeling, working at Victoria's Secret, developing my relation with my love (I love you ACE!) and just plain being annoying, it's amazing how I find time to type this up. Keeps me sane though. ENJOY!! [And if you haven't already, get the Wii—it's fucking GREAT. ^____^]
Once in a Blue Moon: Blurry
PRELUDE
Friday Night, 11:30 PM
Silhouette. Such was the image of the two entangled bounty hunters in each other's arms, wanting, loving, lusting, and all in between. In everything they did, they complimented each other in a way; his two toned eyes, her short violet locks, his rough calloused fingers, her soft skin...yet despite the romantic air surrounding them..
She wanted more.
Her body rocked against his violently, her bottom lip sucked in, like a drug addict feverishly searching for a new addiction. Spike certainly knew what hot spots to touch and Faye, as it would seem, had absolutely no complaints.
"Ye....yes.." She managed to choke out whilst running her slender fingernails down the cowboy's back. The sweat off their bodies was indeed highlighted by the full moon outside the Romani's window pane. The raindrops seemed to roll off the glass and on to their bodies, not to mention the gentle rolling thunder doing nothing more than masking their moans.
"Don't stop, Spike..don't stop..don't sto—ah..AH..!"
.................................................................................................................................
She stared up at the ceiling with those large green eyes, replaying their passionate lovemaking in her head. Her body was asking for more...yet she chuckled. She'll let him sleep for now. Spike stirred gently in his sleep, before waking up momentarily to adjust his head upon Faye's breasts. He turned his features to her and grinned, touching the tip of her nose lightly with his index finger.
"A penny for your thoughts?" That all too well knowing low tone of his still made the Romani weak in the knees...but indeed she had a lot on her mind.
"Spike..?"
"Hmm?"
".....if there was one Marlboro cigarette left on this entire ship, and only two of us were alone..would you let me have it..?"
His eyebrow raised. Had she gone daft?
"I think you've had a bit too much of me for tonight, Faye." He joked lightly before shutting up as he realized she was being serious.
"Well..would you?"
"Of course we'd have to break it in half. Can't have one while leaving the other hanging now, can we?"
Slowly she ran her digits through his thick moss green hair, scratching at his scalp lightly. Her eyes glazed over his features, his nose, his lips. God those lips…
"Promise me something. Promise me you won't leave me hanging. Break your love in half and save it for me.."
His breathing quickened momentarily, but he couldn't help but chuckle.
"..Why this all of a sudden, Faye?"
In the distant, the thunder rolled. Trickles of more rain ran down the window, the shadows of each drop reflecting on Spike's backside.
"I..I don't know.." She replied. "It's just a weird feeling I guess. I think I'm falling for you, gaojo.."
"You'd think after a year you know a person huh?"
She smiled genuinely at her lover, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. His digits traced the outline of her face, to the crook of her neck, the soft outline of her breasts, the curves leading to her waist. He pushed her back on the bed, positioning himself on top of her now. Grabbing a hold of her right thigh and, with a gentle squeeze, he swung it over his left shoulder and grinned as Faye tipped her head back in absolute satisfaction. Her fingernails ripped the sheets, her bottom lip drew in once more and the shadows of the raindrops from her window pane reflected on her smooth ivory skin. She was already ready again for round too, her body in much anticipation of what was to come again, and indeed she didn't have to wait long. He slipped himself inside her, and out came her cries of satisfaction, the toe curling, back arching, slippery feeling of being released temporarily from her cares, her worries and her troubles.
What slipped by her, though, is that he never did confirm his promise.
~Couple months later~
"Mmmmf..."
slurp slurp slurp slurp slurp..
"Mmm..what a wake up call love..but go away..tryn'a sleep.."
slurp slurp slurp..
"Spi..ike.." Her emerald eyes opened slowly to catch a glimpse of what she expected to be her half naked lover. It was naked alright.
"GODDAMN DOG! OUT! OUT!"
Ein whimpered loudly before scrambling to get off the shrew's bed. The anime-ish throwing scene played out fully with its contents being shoes, shirts, clothes, to even a piece of furniture from God knows where. The automatic doors open and out walked a pissed off Faye in her white tank top and black pajama pants, with half of her face mask now licked off clean.
Faye's Point of View. (brief)
"Stupid! Fucking! Dog! ED! GET OUT HERE!"
Last straw. I warned him! He thought I was bluffing when I said I'll sell his ass to the Venetians--now I'm sure of it!
"ED!"
Odd…usually she'd come running by now, screaming happily and calling me annoying pet names, but nothing came--only faint conversation followed by pacing footsteps came from the main room.
"Ed--huh?"
-Author's point of view-
"..for just some fling?!"
"It wasn't a fling."
"Then what was it?! You don't even know fully what's going on but you're willing to risk your goddamn life to find out?!"
"You and I both know that that's not the case, Jet."
"Oh I KNOW what the case is, Spike. You're washed up. You don't know what you want anymore..and make it even worse, you're chasing after a bad dream! Leave it alone, it's in the past! We've already gone down this road and we're NOT going down it again!"
"Move out of my way Jet.."
"I'm not moving."
"MOVE."
"Or else what, huh?! You gonna strike me down just like how you've struck down every fucking dream we've all had on this ship?! We work as a team and we'll go down as one!"
"I don't believe in teams."
"That..heh..you know that's your problem right there, buddy. You don't believe in jack SHIT!"
"What's going on in here?"
Their attention turned now to the violet haired woman, who stood at the entrance leading inside the T.V. room. An uncomfortable silence washed over both Spike and herself, before Jet finally broke the ice by clearing his throat.
"Go back to bed."
"Stay out of this, old man."
"Old man?! Who the hell do yo— "
"Jet."
Spike lit up a skinny Marlboro Lite cigarette and glanced in the direction of the now annoyed Black Dog. Nonchalantly he walked over to the laptop and motioned Faye to view the contents on the screen.
She made her way over to Ed's Tomato and glanced back at Spike, who in turn, turned his head away from the screen to stare up at the ceiling.
"This isn't some kind of trick, is it?" She grunted, her expression changed to annoyance.
Typical Spike thought Even when it's evident, she tries to still be herself..
Hitting the replay button and leaning forward to get a better view of the somewhat grainy video, she heaved a sigh as she realized that after the first minute or two, absolutely nothing came on screen. All that could be seen was the image of a rusty chair in the middle of a dark room; blinds constantly swinging back and forth, probably caused by a near fan on high.
"What is this.." Faye said to herself while scratching the side of her left thigh subconsciously.
As if on cue, the image of a man appearing in his mid forties appeared on screen. His disposition was a rather depressing one, but despite the dark, cold room he appeared to be in, his attire was that of a rich businessman. His charcoal suit seemed to blend in with the shadows that hit his features, giving him the appearance of a drawn character.
He chuckled.
"This message is for one parson, and one parson only. He knows who he is, the slick bas'ard"
His accent could only be compared to an Irish man, mixed in with a bit of American. Whenever he spoke, his left eyebrow raised and dropped momentarily. Faye frowned.
"This is so annoying.." She mumbled underneath her breath, now turning her eyes to look at Spike.
"Just watch it, Faye."
"Some time ago there was a shoot out at the Blue Martini bar on Callisto that e'd up tragically, killing one of my close comrades. We know the guy that di' it, since he's on the run from us pers'ly for bank embezzlement and scamming one of me partners for woolongs two years ago. Now normally we'd take of this ourselves, no problem but as we've just learned today ourselves, he had a second shooter to assist him in this little unfortunate incident of mine, and this parson, Spike Spiegel, is in connection with you."
The man in the video seemed to point directly at Spike, who in turn said not one word-only continue to smoke his half broken Marlboro cigarette without a care in the world.
".We di' a bi' o' research here and found that you know this person quite well. You might even say this person could be a ghost from the past but.. I'm gonna give you a chance to confront your demons. The guy's name is Damascus Rozokov, an ex hitman of mine. You'll find him snooping around a local strip bar named 'Venus Envy'. Kill Rozokov, and the parson you're interested in will no longer be a top priority. If you ignore this message and decide to be a coward, then don't kill him, but we'll be certain to take care of him and your…'devil in paradise' ourselves in the most inhumane way possible. You have one month."
The video fizzed out to black, then turned off itself. Spike shrugged his shoulders and gripped a hold of his traditional blue jacket before proceeding to walk through the automatic doors.
"Jet, close my room door for me so Ed doesn't rummage around in—"
"Get out." The reply seemed uncaring, cold and distant from the Black Dog's mouth. His arms were folded akimbo; his head turned away from his members. A puff of smoke released from between Spike's lips before chuckling slightly, dropping the now fully burnt cigarette on the floor. He took one step forward.
She took a step forward as well.
Spike paused.
"..Maybe you could lock the door for me then, Faye."
"Maybe you could explain to me exactly what the hell is going on here, Spike."
An uncomfortable silence washed over the two. Jet motioned Ed to go to her quarters and like a child, she obeyed.
His two toned eyes glanced towards the cockpit room; memories of yesterday flooding, clouding his mind rapidly like a rush of water over a waterfall.
His rough skin against hers. His calloused fingertips against her cheek, His head tipping back whenever he felt her lips against the crook of his neck, breathing, panting..
"Sp..Spike..don't..don't ever leave me" She had said once during their escapade in the shower just after midnight. He remembered holding her close to his body as the water cascading down their naked figures, with her head resting against his shoulder and her short violet locks matted against his skin.
He also remembered not giving her an answer that night.
Taking another step forward towards the automatic doors now, he was now staring into the dark black emptiness of the hallway that lay ahead of him. The humming of the ship's engine seemed to invite him further down that path, but he decided not to move any further. He had to hear what she had to say. To see if it were enough for him to forget about moving forward.
"Faye—"
"So that's it, huh?"
Spike shivered slightly.
"You're just going to walk out of our lives. Just like that? For what?"
He wanted to respond to her right then and there. He wanted to just hold her in his arms and assure her that everything was going to be okay--even though he himself knew the truth. Instead, he watched her chest rise and fall out of anticipation for his answer. One could tell she was trying to maintain composure, maintain that portion of her that, to both Jet and Ed, seemed uncaring.
"Faye..I have to g-"
"You're fighting a LOST CAUSE AND YOU KNOW IT SPIKE!! You have everything you could ever WANT HERE!! WHAT MAKE SYOU THINK YOU'LL FIND IT BETTER OUT THERE!"
He tips his head to the side and turns his attention to the panoramic view windows in the cockpit room—the same room they first made love in. Spike lit up a Marlboro cigarette, breathed in and out, and then sighed. For the first time in a while, he had to say that he was truly afraid. Afraid to look into the eyes of the woman that he'd grown so accustomed to. Her smile, her words..her touch..
Another airy wisp of nicotine floated in the air, past the familiar asymmetrical haircut that stood behind him.
"Because I'll know if I'm truly alive or not..I have to know, Faye. I have to.."
He walked away from them with his jacket slung over his right shoulder. His pace was slow, yet showed determination and stride. Faye could only watch helplessly as he disappeared within the darkness of the hallway, and watched through the panoramic windows as the Swordfish II zoomed through space, reaching far into the distance till it was nothing more than a memory.
All Jet could do was sigh and walk away.
All Ed could do was run her fingers down the window pane.
And as for the Romani, as one can guess, all she could do, was shed a single tear..
~A week later~
Dinga nee nee nee dinga nee nee nee na na na, na na na na Nah! (AND it's accurate! God, I have no life..x.x;)
"Howdy fellas! 24,000 bounty hunters in the solar system, HOW Y'ALL DOIN?!"
"Hey y'all! This week's crook goes by a man name Michael "Chainsaw" McCormick worth 46 thousand woolongs! Ain't he a cutie!"
"Yeah a dangerous one at that Judy! This guy isn't nothing to play with. He wanted for bank embezzlement, murder, and the assassination of a very important political figure in Callisto. This guy's gonna be tough, so catch him if you can!"
"Nighty nighty cowboys!"
"Ugh..turn it off."
Click
The Black Dog waved his hand over his face depressingly and sighed. It had been a week since any of them had gotten anything done, and it seemed without Spike around, things were going progressively slow. Jet glanced momentarily towards the cockpit and grumbled, wondering what the hell the Grinch was up to now.
Accompanied by the usual groaning, he got up and headed towards the cockpit doors, only to find Faye standing against the large panoramic windows facing the shores of Lake Elsinore, California.
"What are you up to over there?" He asked, scratching the back of his head.
"..He isn't coming back, isn't he Jet?"
His eyes widened in surprise; Faye? Showing concern? For SPIKE? Odd.
"Eh..who knows. He can go kill himself for all I care.
"Don't say that."
"...."
She turned towards the bald headed visibly confused man with a rather serious expression on her face. Her eyes, though once cold and uncaring, seemed now to be filled with sadness and regret. Something about them Jet couldn't quite put his finger on..but being a guy...
"Whatever."
…He dismissed it. Maybe she's on her period. Faye was known to be a bit emotional come that time of the month anyway. Hell, everyday for that matter.
Scratching the back of his neck, he turned his attention to the kitchen that seemed to be just calling his name. Unopened packs of ramen and packets of beef with fresh bell peppers at the side were present in his range of sight. He wanted to experiment with them both and possible come up with something new for them to eat—though it was quite well known that Jet was no chef. In a way, it was his release, his way of taking his mind from their past troubles, and taking his mind from off Spike whom, at this point, was consider a selfish, heartless piece of shit at this point.
" 'ey Faye, I'm thinking beef tonight. Wanna partake in some with me?"
He suggested this to her for two reasons; one fact was that she had barely eaten anything since the lunkhead's departure and this to him, was a bit strange. He'd, as I'd mention before, never known Faye to give two shits about his where abouts before, so why the sudden show of concern? Could be perhaps she missed his company..or stealing his cigarettes. Either of the two. Secondly, she was getting a bit on the skinny side. The ass that she was most famous for on the ship was slowly but surely beginning to disappear and Jet knew that sometime soon, he'd have to seek his guilty pleasures online on Ed's Tomato, and Lord KNOWS he'd have a had time trying to figure out how to visit the sites without Ed accidentally finding them.
"No I'm not hungry."
"You sure though? It's gonna be good..I guarantee it. I just can't figure out where I put that garlic sauce though."
"I'm not hungry. Really, I'm fine. Don't' worry about me— "
"Or! I could fry up some fish! Yeah that should do it—seeing as how Elsinore is right there. We can go grab a couple of poles and tie some stri—"
"I SAID I'M NOT HUNGRY DAMNIT!"
Silence. So much for trying to cook for a shrew..
"I don't want to state the obvious but..something's on your mind and I can't put my finger on it."
"Then don't. Just..leave me alone."
"…….Faye."
"CAN IT."
Frustrated, she walked away from him and went to go sit herself down on that disgusting yellow couch (Where it all started, if you recall), burying her head in her hands as though she had a headache. Jet shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention to the kitchen, deciding to leave her be for today. Frankly, she was beginning to get on his last nerves with her attitude.
Faye reached up and turned on the T.V./ laptop, deciding that there really was nothing else to do but drown her sorrows in television (Seeing as how there was barely any alcohol left on the entire ship).
First thing that popped on was a mild sex scene on some local soap opera, and the first thing that the Romani did was sigh depressingly. Couple of channels later, she finally landed on one titled CNM. Apparently there was a new flash that came on as soon as she flipped on it, and though Faye wasn't one to pay much attention to the news, she decided to watch anyway.
"Thank you for tuning into CNM news ladies and gentlemen, My name is Lisa Crawford and it is approximately seventy five degr—wait..I'm getting word that we have a news flash for you today."
"Yes, it seems as though the person responsible for the frequent bank robberies on Calisto, has been apprehended and apparently knocked unconscious by an unknown hero. This, after several eye witness accounts of assault on the victims that were involved. We go LIVE to Cindy Rodriquez now, Cindy?"
"Thanks Jake, yes I'm standing here right now with a witness that claims to have seen everything that went on inside this bank behind me. Eh..your name is?"
"DAWG YOU SHOULDA SEENT DAT SHIT! DAT SHIT WAS LIKE SOME TONY JAA SHIT NUGGA! Dis dude, right?! He got like CRAZY green hair and he was all cool and collective 'n shit! Den DIS bank robbin nugga over dere came up in here talking bout 'gimme yo money gimme yo money!' I was like 'ah hell nah nugga yuh ain't getting shit from me' an he like grabbed my shit and jacked it up, an he fucked a couple people up as well, but den di nugga I was talkin' out came outta no where an just started smiling at the nugga!"
"Smiling, sir?"
"Yes, smilin' bitch don't you speak English?! Anyway, dat bank robber or wutever started roughing him out an tried to punch dat weird smiling nugga but he dodged that shit like it aint nuthin! Dat nugga was like UGH! And he was like AH! And den dey were like POP POW BAP BAP BLO! Dawg yuh shoulda seent it!"
"So do you know where this heroic stranger went off to?"
"Yeah he walkin' away right over there!"
The camera rotated to the right of the individuals and focused in on a man that was trying to get away quickly from the scene as possible. Faye shrugged her shoulders slightly, before feeling a can of Budweezer (Yes, Budweezer. I don't need to be sued) hit the back of her head.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!"
"Sorry" Jet apologized. "Thought you might need it."
Faye grumbled and turned back to Ed's TOMATO, whilst opening the can of beer and taking large gulps. The camera zoomed in on the man walking away, and (like we didn't already know) appeared to be wearing the SAME thing Spike always wears. The blue/green jacket, the green mop top..the lanky walk..
"Sir, wait! We need to talk to you!"
And ever so slightly, the character looked over his shoulder. The familiar two toned eyes, the melodramatic eye brow raised..
Needless to say, the drink that was in her mouth ended up dripping on Ed's laptop. Guess Jet was right after all. How convenient.
"SPIKE!"
"WHAT?! 'ey Faye! FAYE! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!"
But Faye was already gone. The now half empty can of beer was draining into the cracks of that all too familiar yellow couch. Jet quickly dropped his spatula and rushed to go grab some decent pants, since he'd been walking around in boxers and a shirt all day. Without yelling at Ed to stay put, he ran after her down the hall, down the stairs, up the stairs, a right, then a left..and it seemed that no matter how loud he yelled at her to just fucking stop running, she never heard him. In her head she was hearing a song—a hateful, spiteful song that rang with Spike's name repeatedly. She wasn't chasing after him to convince him to come back— No, she knew she was much much better than that.. At that moment, she was chasing after him for one thing and one thing only—to fucking KILL HIM.
"Show time!"
The old man felt the backdoor of The Bebop open up, immediately creation a suction action, causing all the paper work that was in the garage to fly all about the page. As he stood there in front of her revving Red Tail, trying to stop her or maybe convince her not to go anywhere, a billion thoughts ran through his mind—would she even care if she accidentally run him over? Would she feel sorry if she did?
Hell, would she ACTUALLY run him over?!
Nah..
In fact, he just stood there, dumbfounded. Watching as the Romani's ship rushed right past him and touched off into the noon high American air, with the after sound of her ship whizzing by his ears quite painfully. He didn't know whether to go after her and see where their paths took him, or stay and enjoy the peace and quiet that was a rarity in itself.
He looked towards the sky for her ship, and saw nothing but her ship zooming towards space, then looked back into the empty darkness that seemed so nice..so inviting..
"…..FUCK!!" And off he went.