Chapter two. Please enjoy!

Gaucho

Women are fickle. Women are strange. Women are annoying, especially the ones with attitude. At least that's what Spike Spiegel thought for the most part. Love was never something Spike was too big on. All his life, he felt as though he had been plagued by women. In his youth, there seemed to him to be three specific types of girls: the type that adored him, the type that hated him, and the type that couldn't care less. The latter seemed to be the most abundant. He didn't even have a friend who was a girl. He was always that puny, awkward kid with the goofy green hair who sat in the back of the classroom. He remembered how he would sit with his friends and on occasion observe the girls in class, eavesdropping passively at their conversations. He and his best friend would simply exchange glances, wondering what on Mars these girls were talking about, before turning their attention to more interesting topics.

As Spike grew in to his long limbs, the ratio of type one girls to type three girls had just about evenly switched. Although his behavior hadn't changed much, he had miraculously gone from dorky outcast to man of mystery. After a while he had begun to see more and more batting eyelashes, pouted lips and coy glances, all vying for his attention. Their acknowledgement went to his head, of course, but he tended not to let it show. These girls were no doubt lovely to look at, and Spike did have his share of casual, yet discreet sex, not to mention the occasional crush on the pretty girl that never knew of his existence, but he didn't think he'd be able to see himself with a beautiful woman on his arm.

Julia was a different story.

As Spike fell in with a bad crowd, the Red Dragons syndicate, he felt more like he was among friends. He had people like Mao, Shin, Lin and, of course, Vicious to back him up. The thought of women had been far from his mind most of the time. Until Vicious got himself a girlfriend.

It wasn't a rivalry issue at first. Julia had become a part of the syndicate, a very skilled member indeed. She'd become part of the brotherhood, so to speak. She was one of the guys, and she fit into Spike's definition of 'normal'. She was strong, beautiful and independent, in spite of the dark shadow that loomed close behind her. She was unlike any woman he had ever met, and that interested him to no end. Julia was a great friend to him. Spike remembered the first time she had patched him back to health. He had fallen, mere yards from her front door, and she had come out to help him. He remembered waking up to the sweet and melancholy melody that she hummed while sitting across from him, watching him attentively. He remembered his words: Just like that. Sing for me, please. He remembered that smile, that beautiful smile that he felt sure radiated a physical heat to warm him. It was then that Spike doubted the idea that men and women could be just friends. He wished he could have more of her. He loved her. Julia was a beautiful woman.

Julia had made Spike forget about everything, even Vicious. It had been a rude awakening when he realized that he was in love with his best friend's girlfriend. Spike wasn't even sure he had ever seen Vicious display any kind of romantic affection toward her. But before he knew it, he was at a crossroads, which led to a butting of heads, which led to a be-all, end-all battle between him and his former best friend. Spike thought it ironic that he could never see himself as a man who held so much affection for a woman, and yet here he was, stealing one from his best friend! It wasn't long before he thought of a way out. After having to leave Julia behind, Spike had legitimate reason why he'd never love again.

Finally free of the torture that had become of the Red Dragon syndicate, living a man's life with a new, very manly best friend, and having taken on such a manly occupation, Spike was relatively happy again. There was still a void left in his heart though, a hole where Julia should have been. Fortunately, Spike had discovered, being out in the real world, that women were not all the same. He thought of all the women he had met since severing himself from the syndicate. Most were intriguing and lovely in their own ways. There was that woman who had been with a four million woolong bounty a while ago, Asimov something-or-other. She was gorgeous, not to mention a sweet gal. Spike could tell she had been hurting on the inside. V.T. was a nice lady, once she stopped hating him. Muriel, the girl who worked at that bar, was cute, but a little dense. Then there was Stella, Rocco Bonnaro's younger sister. She was quite a trooper. She had opened his eyes, so to speak, to being strong in the face of shortcomings. These women were all unique. Julia, although wonderful, was not the sole exception to the rule. But no matter what he discovered, it didn't stop him from loving her.

But then there was Faye. Who could forget about Miss Faye Valentine? No stranger to a little harmless flirting, Spike had willingly allowed himself to be cheated out of all the money in his pockets. To this day he was never able to come up with an explanation as to why he had wasted his money at her table. Yeah, he wanted to play, but he could have left when he noticed she was cheating, targeting him specifically. It was probably intrigue. Curiosity. Attraction. He had noticed that Faye had the most strikingly astonishing emerald green eyes he had ever seen. After she had escaped with thirty million woolongs more of his money in her clutches, she had reappeared weeks later. To stay! There was no reason for this. Spike had been indignant that Faye invited herself onto the Bebop to become a permanent resident. She was invading on his and Jet's manly territory. He was greatly surprised when Jet showed little resistance at first. Spike thought perhaps Jet saw her as a way to help rake in more dough, but knowing her, it would be a futile attempt.

Faye had attitude. This was the sole reason she and Spike would always butt heads. But Spike was never one to be overbearing. He tolerated her, mainly because Jet tolerated her (as best he could). She was a treat on the eyes, another reason she was so tolerable. But the stealing of money and fuel and antifreeze, of all things, wasn't a big hit with the men. Faye Valentine was a challenge. She wasn't exactly manipulative, but always found some way to get what she wanted, usually by pilfering or unfair bargaining; mind games weren't her thing. Spike took note of how she worked. She would smooth talk her way into a bargain that shouldn't even be considered. Slight arguing might ensue. Then, she'd play the sex appeal card when she knew she was winning to seal the deal. She usually pulled that stunt on Jet. Spike never would admit it, but on occasion, it would work on him too.

Spike considered the fact that before Faye came along, the Bebop had been somewhat dull. When Ein came aboard, things just got slightly smellier. Edward, although helpful, was a key factor in the reason they were always out of food between bounties. Faye never caused too much trouble, but just enough to irritate the men. She always brought some kind of excitement to the ship, good or bad. On the other hand, it was refreshing to have a beautiful, scantily clad woman traipsing around the ship with no regard to them. She was… entertaining, if nothing else. But it was that aspect of her, that disregard for him, that bugged Spike. It set him ill at ease. It was very attractive. Either she really didn't think much of Spike, or she was just as good at hiding her emotions as he was.

He could have sworn he'd experienced some rare moments when the heavy feeling of sexual tension between him and Faye was so thick and suffocating that he could cut through it with a machete. He was sure Jet could have felt it too. Acting on it, for some unknown reason, just seemed like a bad idea. There was Julia to consider. Julia made Spike forget about everything.

Spike knew that Faye harbored some feelings for him, if not romantically, then as a friend. It was painfully evident when Faye had returned from her so-called final farewell. It confused him at first. She had come back not just because of him, but also to deliver an urgent message from Julia. He knew Faye wasn't in the dark about his feelings for Julia. No one was. Faye was trying to help Spike help her. That in and of itself spoke volumes. After losing Julia, he had sorrowfully returned to the Bebop, and Faye was still there, waiting for him. Wanting him. Begging him not to leave again. It was all the proof he needed. Unfortunately, he still had some unfinished business to attend to.

Spike didn't think he'd ever see anyone he remotely cared about ever again. But as he opened his eyes and looked upon the fragrant, raven hair that was gracelessly sprawled on a pillow before his nose, he wondered what exactly had happened. Then and now seemed to lack all cohesion. His arms wrapped around pale, slender curves that were much different than Julia's. A hand rested on her delicately curved hip. As the woman snuggled in closer to him, Spike smiled at the warm caress of her body on his. He gave a sigh, lightly tracing little circles on her shoulder. Remembering was for those without a future. This was only the beginning.

Fin.

Yay! What did you guys think? It's my first fic where there's only reflection and no plot. I hope I did an exceptionally good job on it. But the only way I'll be able to know that is if you lovely readers out there leave me reviews! I'd love to hear from you all! Thanks!

Ciao! XD